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Manuscript/Mixed Material Prayers for the New Year (Noruz)

About this Item

Title

  • Prayers for the New Year (Noruz)

Names

  • Muhammad Bakhsh

Created / Published

  • 1211/1796-7

Headings

  • -  Calligraphy, Arabic
  • -  Calligraphy, Persian
  • -  Manuscripts, Persian--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  India
  • -  Calligraphy, Indian
  • -  Arabic script calligraphy
  • -  Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Islamic calligraphy
  • -  Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Naskh

Notes

  • -  Prayers for the New Year (Nowruz) in Persian signed by Muhammad Bakhsh, dated 1211/1796-7 from India.
  • -  Ay akhtar-i burj-i sa'd ba bakht-i sa'id / Bar khiz tarab guzin ka noruz rasid / Har va'da ka iqbal namud ast bi-to / Al-hal qarib ast agar bud ba'id
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: 10.2 (w) x 18.2 (h) cm
  • -  Oh Star of the Constellation of Destiny (endowed) with good luck / Rise up and be merry because the New Year has arrived. / Every promise that Fortune has made to you / Is now close, if it (ever) had been far.
  • -  This calligraphic panel is executed in black (Indian) naskh on a pink paper decorated with gold cloud motifs and pasted to a light blue backing. It is signed by Muhammad Bakhsh and dated 1211/1796-7 in the lower left corner. In the upper right corner, an invocation to 'Ali (Oh 'Ali, the Greatest, or Ya 'Ali al-a'ala) shows that the work emerged from a Shi'i milieu. The iambic pentameter quatrain, or ruba'i, that follows reads:
  • -  This poem wishes a ruler (nicknamed the "Star of the Constellation of Destiny") everlasting good fortune and the fulfillment of promises on the occasion of New Year's. This New Year, or noruz, is most likely the Spring equinox (March 21st) marking the beginning of the solar calendar as celebrated in Iran and parts of India. It appears that this calligraphic panel was executed on such an occasion to celebrate the New Year and to wish a patron prosperity for the years to come. This practice of offering good wishes in written form during New Year's celebrations is attested to in a number of other calligraphic specimens in the Library of Congress (see 1-04-713.19.3, 1-04-713.19.48, and 1-04-713.19.49).
  • -  Script: naskh
  • -  1-84-154.51

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 14.6 (w) x 22.5 (h) cm

Repository

  • Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714600

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The contents of the Library of Congress Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions and are free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, African and Middle East Division, Near East Section Persian Manuscript Collection

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Muhammad Bakhsh. Prayers for the New Year Noruz. /1796-7, 1796. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714600/.

APA citation style:

Muhammad Bakhsh. (1796) Prayers for the New Year Noruz. /1796-7. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714600/.

MLA citation style:

Muhammad Bakhsh. Prayers for the New Year Noruz. /1796-7, 1796. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714600/>.