Extent: 1 volume (344 leaves), illustrations ; 38 x 28.5 cm
Note:
Title devised by cataloger. Probable place of production: South Asia, likely Kashmir, based on the style of the illustrations and other codicological evidence. Date of creation likely 18th or 19th century. Scribe of manuscript unknown. The manuscript is incomplete, containing only the sections conventionally categorized by modern scholars as 'mythic' and 'legendary.' The third section, traditionally identified as 'historical' (beginning with the reign of Alexander the Great), is absent. On f. 270, a closing formula in the shape of a small triangle contains the word ‘tamām’ (meaning finished or explicit... Written in Nastaʻliq script, the main text is in black ink. Headings and column rulings are rubricated (in red ink), and the text is distributed into four columns, typical for Persian epic poetry. Marginalia throughout. Binding. Original manuscript leaves have been mounted onto new paper supports and subsequently rebound, possibly in England in the 19th century, in full tan calfskin with blind tooling. Doublures and free endpapers are watermarked with the text "Imperator Parchment" and a symbol of a crown. Illuminations: Demon King Zahhak with serpents emerging from his shoulders as his men murder a Persian man in front of him (f. 7v); Zahhak hangs upside down after being defeated by Feridun who wields his ox-headed mace in this image (f. 13r); King Manuchehr sits on the throne (f. 27r); Zal in Rudabeh’s pavilion (f. 33v); Sam sits with his grandson Rostam (f.45v); Rostam lifts Afrasayib...
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