English: MUHAMMAD QULI MIRZA (D.1844), DIWAN, PERSIA, QAJAR, SIGNED BY KHALIL AL-SARAWI, DATED 1240 AH/1824-25 AD

27.2 by 17.2cm.

Persian manuscript on paper, 145 leaves plus 2 fly-leaves, 17 lines to the page written in nasta’liq in black ink, within two columns, a third column on the margin with diagonal writing, ruled in gold and blue, cartouches throughout the text enclosing gold and polychrome flowers, 9 illuminate headings usually preceded by a folio densely decorated with gold and polychrome interlacing vegetal motifs, in contemporaneous lacquer binding

Muhammad Quli Mirza (1789-1844) was the third son of Fath’ali Shah, titled Molk Ara, who was appointed Governor of Astarabad and Mazandaran. After the death of Fath ’Ali Shah, he was the eldest surviving son, and would not respect his younger brother Muhammad Mirza as king, for which he was sent to exile to Hamadan where he spent most of his life. Towards the end of his life, he was brought to Tehran where he died (M. Bamdad, Dictionary of National Biography of Iran, 1700-1960, vol.3, Tehran, 1966, pp.471-3). This title is unrecorded and the manuscript is also incomplete This manuscript includes a few mathnavis with title headings including the story of Shaykh San’an and the the Christian maidan and one on the virtues of Imam ‘Ali. His pen-name Khosravi and the mention of the name Fath ’Ai shah are always given in red in his ghazals.

The manuscript has a few colophons, stating that it was copied by Khalil al-Sarawi, who is not recorded, but clearly a calligrapher from the city of Sari in Mazandaran, where the Prince was Governor. The colophons are dated at the end of the mathnavis dated Thursday Rabi’ ii 1240 AH (November-December 1824 AD) (the date of the composition of this section is given in abjad and numbers 1220 AH/1805-06 AD); another at the end of his ghazals on eulogies of Fath ’Ali Shah dated 1240 AH (1824-5 AD), and another at the end of his other ghazals, also dated 1240 AH (1824-45 AD). This means the manuscript was produced during the prince’s lifetime.