Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-05
old MANUSCRIPTS
PRESENTED TOU.S.
.Kirker Minassian Adds II
/ Papers of Near East to
| Collection.

Representing years of collecting, II
unusual Arabic, Persian and Armenian
manuscripts. the earliest about 400
hears old, have just been presented to
lie National Library by Kirker Minas-
Shn of New York. supplementing his
fScent gift of similar manuscripts and
have been incorporated in the "Kirker
Minassian Collection" in the Library
81 Congress, it was announced today.
Like the manuscripts in the earlier
lift. they were gathered by Mr.. Minas-
Sian during his frequent journeys to
xAe Near East. Apart from their his
kdrical and cultural content. they are
Important as specimens Of the callig-
rapher'S art.
One of the manuscripts, done in the
early eighteenth century in gold on lac
quer, and presenting an example OF the
Shikasteh style of Persian writing, is
typical Or almost any other might be
mentioned because of its careful eXecu-
ton, either in Magribi, Naskh or Mas
taliq character, as the fact may be,
and singled out for the artistry Of its
embellishments in color and gold. All
of these pieces are in fine condition
conditions which generally attend the
journeyings of manuscripts.
Copy of Rose Garden"
Among them is complete copy,
dated 1011 after the Hegira, of the
"Gulistan" or Rose Garden" of
Shaikh Muslih-ad-Din Sadi, who. in
the annals of Persian literature, is re-
garded as one of the three prophets
of poetry" anG has been called 1.-THE
nightingale of thousand songs" From
the time when he f1ourished TOO years
ago to the present day his fame has
never dimmed, and his Rose Garden"
has remained secure in its place as one
of the great classics of Persian poetry.
Sadi himself declared that no Autumns
should ever wither this garden of
flowers.
Its origin, he relates, goes back to
night when he, then at the age of SO,
thought upon his past time, rejecting
with regret upon his prodigal use of
life, and-for these are his words-bor-
ing the f1inty mansions of his heart
with the diamonds of his tears. Then
in later April, when '.the leafy vest
. ments of the trees resembled the holy
day apparel of the happy" he began
this, the "GulliStan," or Bower. of
all eternity"
The present copy is in the fine CAL
1igraphy of the small hand Nastaliq,
and was written by Mohammad NAH
mud Lari, native of Lar, in the prov
ince of Pars. The first page is eXquiS-
itely illuminated. All the titles appear
in gold, and the binding is the original,
gold embossed. On the reverse of the
first page there are ten seals. which
tell of as many previous ownerships of
the manuscript.
Seven Arabic Manuscripts.
Among the other Persian manuscripts
is a seventeenth century copy of Mir
Imad, in Nastaliq character, with mar
ginal writings in Shikasteh Nastaliq;
a copy of the Resaleh PireeZi, by NAH
mud ibn Omar an-Nejati of Nishapur,
in the calligraphy of the early sixteenth
century; and volume of verses in
Mathnavi rhyme, discoursing of ethical
subjects, written in Naskh character.
There are seven of the Arabic manu-
scripts, including commentary on the
Koran by As-Soyouti and Af<Akahalli
dated 1850 after the Hegira; COM
mentary on Al-Gadusi by Imam Abul
Hassan, with marginal annotations by
various ISlamic writers; and the Sharh
Dibacheh Alveqayeh of Ibn Malik, at
the end of which is a short treatise on
astronomy, dated 1856 after the Hegira
The two interesting Armenian manu-
scripts in Mr.. Minassian'S gift contain,
one. pictorial representation of the
freeing of ST. Gregory from the dun
geon: the other, the death of the Virgin
Mary.
These manuscripts will be placed on
exhibition in the public halls Of the Lii
brary for the benefit of the numerous
visitors that the Springtime is bringing
to Washington.