Three folios from illuminated manuscripts, Persia, 15th-16th century

These three folios are as follows:

A: An illuminated medallion probably from a safina form manuscript, or perhaps a design for a bookbinding. The drawing is of very good quality and the style can be associated with Timurid work.

B: A folio from a manuscript of poetry in safina form of Turkman origin, circa 1450-80. The paper is highly burnished and smooth and the manuscript from which it originates is a well-known type, often comprising anthologies of poetry with elaborately decorated pages and small, finely painted Turkman miniatures. Comparable examples can be found in various museum collections including the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin (see Minovi et al, The Chester Beatty Library: A Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts and Miniatures, Dublin 1960., vol.II, pl.8; Lentz and Lowry, Timur and the Princely Vision, Los Angeles 1989, p.202), and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (see Coomaraswamy, A., Ars Asiatica XIII, Paris-Brussels 1929, pl.X).

C: A folio in nasta'liq with small, exquisite panels of illumination and stenciled borders of scrolling foliate motifs, and on the recto, running gazelles.