Haft Paikar (Seven Portraits) of the Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja
ca. 1430
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper; lacquer binding
Dimensions
H. 11 in. (27.9 cm) W. 7 in. (17.8 cm)
Classification
Codices
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Alexander Smith Cochran, 1913
Accession Number
13.228.13.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Islamic Art galleries, where we encounter the exquisite *Haft Paikar (Seven Portraits)* from the *Khamsa (Quintet)* by the renowned 12th-century Persian poetizami of Ganja. Created around 1430 and attributed to the calligrapher Maul Azhar, this cod measures a portable 11 by 7 inches, bound in lacquer for protection and elegance. It forms part of Nizami's epic *Khamsa*, a of five masnavis (rhymed couplet poems) blending romance, morality, and adventure—timeless treasures of Persian literature from the Timurid era. The *Haft Paikar* narrates the tale of Bahram Gur, a Sasanian kin...