Miniatures in the Dīvān of Ḥāfiẓ Šīrāzī from the Manuscript Collection of the Gazi Husrev-beg Library

Abstract

The Dīvān of the celebrated lyrical poet Shams al–dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfiẓ Šīrāzī (d. c. 1390) ranks among the most significant works of classical Persian literature. It consists primarily of ghazals, some qasidas and ruba‘is. An illuminated manuscript of the Dīvān is held at the Gazi Husrev–beg Library in Sarajevo under the call number R–1366. It contains five miniatures. This manuscript of Ḥāfiẓ’ Dīvān is particularly noteworthy as it represents the only preserved illuminated manuscript in the Bosnian manuscript collections that contains miniatures of Persian provenance. Even though it has been hitherto briefly overviewed, showcased, and presented, scholars so far did not provide a comprehensive description of its decorative programme. This paper aims at analysing and interpreting the Dīvān illustrations in R–1366, with particular attention accorded to its miniatures in a formal and systematic study of their iconographic features in an attempt to determine the possible origin of its miniatures’ style, contextualizing the Sarajevan illuminated copy of the Dīvān in a broader cultural landscape of Persian miniature painting. This study also examines the relationship between the miniatures and the relevant passages in the text.