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The Visualization of Shaykh Ṣafī al-Dīn Isḥaq Ardabilī: A Unique Illustrated Copy of the Ṣafvat al-Ṣafā at the Aga Khan Museum Collection and Its Illustrations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Aslıhan Erkmen
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Abstract

This paper is a monographic study of the illustrated copy of Ṣafvat al-Ṣafā, the life of Shaykh Ṣafī al-Dīn, by Ismāʿil bin Bazzāz, completed in Shaʿbān 990/September 1582 in Shirāz. It begins by giving information on the original text and its sources; then examines the unique illustrated copy. The features of the illustrated Ṣafvat al-Ṣafā are discussed while each of the fourteen images are explored in terms of the text-image relationship. The themes are also briefly analyzed according to a stylistic and iconographical approach in order to further exhibit the manuscript's uniqueness. The article concludes by emphasizing the significance of this copy at the Aga Khan Museum collection regarding its general condition, the illustration cycle and its records.

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Articles
Information
Iranian Studies , Volume 50 , Issue 1 , January 2017 , pp. 45 - 77
Copyright
© 2015 The International Society for Iranian Studies

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