A leaf from an illustrated manuscript, depicting a prince enthroned, surrounded by courtiers and musicians, Persia, 16th Century

gouache and gold on paper, recto three lines of text in nasta'liq script, borders decorated with stylised clouds, and a wild beast amidst foliage, verso thirteen lines of text written in two columns horizontally and diagonally, inner margins ruled in colours and gold
leaf 223 x 127 mm.

Provenance
Dr Thomas Ewart Marston (1905-1984), curator of Mediaeval and Renaissance Literature art at Yale University Library.
Minna Marston, his wife, and thence by descent.

Dr. Marston was elected trustee of the Yale University Library Association in 1933 and was the curator of Mediaeval and Renaissance literature at the library until his retirement in 1972. He had a BA from Yale and and MA and PhD from Harvard University. He was the author of Britain's Imperial Role in the Red Sea Area: 1800-1878 and co-author of The Vineland Map and the Tartar Relation.

The text has not been identified, but the passage here relates to the enthronement of a ruler. This lot, and the two lots following (5 and 6) appears to be from the same manuscript. It is possible that these texts are from interpolated passages from the Shahnama.

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