AMIR KHUSRAW DIHLAVI (D. 1325): DIWAN Safavid Iran, early 16th century Persian manuscript on paper, 436 leaves and two flyleaves, inscribed with 16 lines of nasta'liq in two columns, gold jadwal, titles in blue nasta'liq in illuminated cartouches, very fine illuminated double frontispiece, advertisements, Persian inscription on title page dated rabi' I 1210 H/September 1795 mentioning the birth of a child named ʿAli Muhammad Jaʿfar, in a fine Safavid binding probably original, pink paper linings. Size: 26.5 x 15 cm (leaves); 16.5 x 8 cm (text) Amir Khusraw Dihlavi, i.e. "of Delhi" (d. 1325), was a poet and musician born in India at the time of the Delhi Sultanate, of a Turkish father and an Indian mother. He is considered a major figure in medieval Indo-Persian culture and Sufi literature. He is buried in Delhi next to his spiritual master, the Sufi saint Nizam al-Din Awliya. The illuminated double frontispiece decorating the first leaves of this manuscript is typical of Persian manuscripts from the first half of the 16th century. See, for example, the frontispiece of a manuscript of Nizami's Khamsa in the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, dated 923-24 H/1517-18 (inv. W.606). A Fine Copy of Amir Khusraw Dihlavi's Diwan, Safavid Iran, 16th century