Keywords: Sadi1.jpg Script nasta'liq These calligraphic fragments are the first seven pages of Sa'di's Bustan The Fruit Garden or The Orchard The order of the first seven pages of this work all belonging to the same manuscript goes as follows Page 1 1-04-713 19 26 Page 2 1-04-713 19 15 Page 3 1-04-713 19 14 Page 4 1-04-713 19 12 Page 5 1-04-713 19 13 Page 6 1-04-713 19 11 Page 7 1-04-713 19 25 Page 1 Shaykh Sa'di d 691/1292 composed his famous and beloved Bustan in 1256-7 It contains histories personal anecdotes fables and moral instructions The first page provides a praise of God as an appropriate incipit to the text The first two lines read In the name of the Lord Life-Creating / The Wise One Speech-Creating with the Tongue / The Lord the Giver the Hand-Seizing / Merciful Sin-Forgiving Excuse-Accepting As in this case the first page of a Persian poetical text is easily recognizable as it is provided with an ornamental panel at the top sarloh and the main text usually is decorated by cloud band motifs and decorative illumination between the text and in the gutter separating each verse of poetry The top frieze contains three yellow flowers -- perhaps intended to represent blooming saffron flowers although the petals of saffron flowers tend to be of a light purple color -- as well as a blue horizontal band decorated with a gold leaf and flower motifs The yellow-orange flower reappears on an otherwise unrelated calligraphic fragment in the Library of Congress see 1-88-154 41 V This copy of the Bustan may have been produced in India during the 17th century The back of the second page 1-04-713 19 15 of this series includes a note supporting this provenance as it states that the work was written by 'Abd al-Rashid Daylami He was one of the famous calligraphers active at the court of the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan r 1627-1656 in Agra and Delhi ascs 009 century 17 Calligrapher 'Abd al-Rashid Daylami attr PD-old Other pages in this set <gallery> File Sadi2 jpg Page 2 File Sadi3 jpg Page 3 File Sadi4 jpg Page 4 File Sadi5 jpg Page 5 File Sadi6 jpg Page 6 File Sadi7 jpg Page 7 </gallery> Bostan Cloud bands |