ISLAMIC, INDIAN ART & JEWELS
Lot 13:
Description
A finely preserved mid-19th-century Arabic manuscript containing the Diwan (collected poems) of Nikolaus Saigh, a distinguished Maronite poet from Mount Lebanon. This beautifully written volume was copied in Nazareth, Palestine, in 1847 A.D., reflecting the rich literary and cultural exchanges between the Christian communities of Lebanon and the Holy Land during the Ottoman period.
The manuscript is penned in neat naskh script in black and red inks, with clear rubrication marking poem divisions and thematic sections. The text presents Saigh’s lyrical and reflective verses, imbued with the moral, religious, and philosophical depth characteristic of Maronite Arabic poetry of the 18th–19th centuries.
Bound in an elegant modern brown tooled leather binding with a central red medallion, the manuscript remains clean and well-preserved, with minimal staining and excellent legibility.
This manuscript stands as a remarkable testament to the Arabic literary output of Christian poets in the Levant and offers valuable insight into 19th-century intellectual and cultural life in the region.
21.5 x 16cm
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