An illustrated leaf from a manuscript of the Sharaf-nameh, the fifth book of Nizami's Khamsa, depicting Dara in battle with Iskandar's army, Persia, 16th Century

gouache and gold on paper, recto four lines of text written in nasta'liq script in black ink in four columns, outer border decorated with scrolling stylised floral motifs in gold, verso 23 lines of text, inner margins ruled in colours and gold
leaf 250 x 147 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.

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