An Anthology of Poetry, including the works of Nava'i, Khata'i and Hafiz, Ottoman Turkey or Persia, first half 16th century

Persian and Ottoman Turkish manuscript on different coloured papers, incomplete, 31 leaves, 8 lines to the page written horizontally, in vertical panels and diagonally in small and neat Nasta'liq script in black ink, panels separated by gold rules, each page with illuminated triangular panels decorated with polychrome flowers and arabesque motifs, ruled in colours and gold, opening page with a large illuminated headpiece composed of interlacing scrolling foliate motifs against blue and gold grounds, in later soft leather binding

in fairly good overall condition, some worm holes, two pages with heavy waterstaing, the others generally clean, and illumination fresh with gold bright, rebound in a modern solf leather binding, as viewed.
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Displaying a fine and elegant Nasta'liq hand, this illuminated manuscript comprises the works of some of the most famous poets in Medieval Islamic literature. Mir Ali-Shir Nava'i (1441-1501 AD) was an important cultural and political figure under the reign of the Timurid ruler Husayn Baykara (d.1506 AD), and composed around thirty works in Chagatay Turkish, having been influenced by the great Persian poets Jami', Nizami' and Amir Khusraw. Khatta'i, on the other hand, was the pen name of the Safavid Dynasty's founder, Shah Isma'il (r.1501-24). His poetry is important because it reflects the nature of early Safavid Sufism, and grew extremely popular among Alawi-Bektashi orders of Anatolia. A further poet who features in the present anthology is the Persian lyric poet Shams Al-Din Muhammad Shirazi Hafiz (d.1325-89). He is known best for his ghazals, or elegies, which generally revolve around the emotions of the poet regarding love, spring, the celebration of wine and of keeping faith.