This item has been added to the Database within the Explore Islamic Art Collections project. Information is available in: English, Arabic.

Name of Object:

A leaf from the Siyar-i-Nabi

Location:

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Holding Museum:

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

About Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur

Date of Object:

c. Hegira 1000 / c. AD 1600

Museum Inventory Number:

2011.9.5

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Gouache heightened with gold on paper

Dimensions:

37.2 x 26.6cm

Period / Dynasty:

Ottoman

Provenance:

Turkey

Description:

In 1376 AD, the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt and Syria celebrated his coming to power by commissioning the compilation and translation of the history of Prophet Muhammad. Sultan Barquq ordered the renowned Mustafa ibn Yusuf ibn Umar al-Mevlevi al-Erzumi to author the history of the Prophet known as Siyar-i Nabi. Two hundred years later, in AD 1594-95, the celebrated text was copied by the royal scribe Mustafa ibn Vali in Istanbul. The manuscript was a royal commission where in every other page the scribe would leave space for miniature. The completed six volumes depicting 814 miniatures were later presented to the Ottoman Sultan Murad II. In this leaf, the illustration shows a group of visitors in awe, when they saw the house of a humble pious boy, who has the utmost respect and affection to the Prophet Muhammad (saw), has turned into a palace as a divine gift.

How provenance was established:

- Commissioned by the Ottoman Sultan Murad III in 1594;

- In the possession of Princess Se'adetlu Bash-Rukhshah-Qadin Hazretleri in 1753;

- In the possession of Major R.G. Gayer-Anderson.

Selected bibliography:

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, IAMM Guide Book, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2014: 18. Müstakim-zade, Süleyman Saadeddin, Tuhfe-i Hattatin, Istanbul, 1928.
Suyolcuzade, Mehmed Necib, Devhatul Kuttab, Istanbul, 1942.

Citation of this web page:

 "A leaf from the Siyar-i-Nabi" in Explore Islamic Art Collections. Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;my;Mus21;35;en

MWNF Working Number: MY1 35