Lot 285: A PERSIAN ILLUMINATED MINIATURE LEAF DEPICTING YUSUF AND ZULAIKHA, 18TH - 19TH CENTURY

This is an illuminated Persian manuscript leaf, likely from a version of Jami’s Yusuf and Zulaikha, dating to the late 18th or 19th century during the Qajar period. The obverse features a central miniature painting executed in gouache, ink, and gold on paper. The scene depicts a prophet, identified as Yusuf by a flaming gold halo, seated on a decorative carpet alongside Zulaikha within an architectural interior. They are accompanied by three female figures: two standing attendants holding trays of offerings and one seated musician playing a frame drum, or daf, in the foreground. The composition is framed by an ornate border of niches decorated with gold, red, and blue floral and foliate motifs. Integrated into the illustration are two rectangular panels of Persian Nasta’liq calligraphy. The upper panel reads: Zulaikha ra gereft az mehr-e del dast / neshandeh-ash bar abar-e takht benshast (Zulaikha took his hand with heart’s affection / and seated him upon the throne like a cloud). The lower panel reads: Bedu goft ey be anv’-e keramat / mara sharmandeh kardeh ta qiyamat (She said to him, O you of various honours / you have made me ashamed until Judgement Day). The verso of the leaf contains twenty-four lines of Nasta’liq script arranged in two columns of twelve lines each. The text block is set against a background of fine gold flecking, known as zarafshan, and is enclosed within a thin blue and gold border. This central area is surrounded by a wide orange-toned margin embellished with overall gold speckling.

L: 20 by 11.5cm