Sufi Lovers, Safavid Silks and Early Modern Identity / / Nazanin Hedayat Munroe.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Amsterdam University Press Complete eBook-Package 2022
• VerfasserIn: Hedayat Munroe, Nazanin,
• Place / Publishing House: Amsterdam : : Amsterdam University Press, , [2022]; ©2022
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Series: Visual and Material Culture, 1300 –1700 ; 41
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (248 p.)

This book examines a group of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century figural silks depicting legendary lovers from the Khamsa (Quintet) of epic Persian poetry. Codified by Nizami Ganjavi in the twelfth century, the Khamsa gained popularity in the Persian-speaking realm through illustrated manuscripts produced for the elite, creating a template for illustrating climactic scenes in the love stories of “Layla and Majnun” and “Khusrau and Shirin” that appear on early modern silks. Attributed to Safavid Iran, the publication proposes that dress fashioned from these silks represented Sufi ideals based on the characters. Migration of weavers between Safavid and Mughal courts resulted in producing goods for a sophisticated and educated elite, demonstrating shared cultural values and potential reattribution. Through an examination of primary source materials, literary analysis of the original text, and close iconographical study of figural designs, the study presents original cross-disciplinary arguments about patronage, provenance, and the socio-cultural significance of wearing these silks.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgments -- List of Illustrations -- Note on Transliteration -- Introduction: Material Culture and Mysticism in the Persianate World -- Part I -- 1. Silks, Signatures and Self-fashioning -- 2. Dressed as King, Lover and Beloved: Khusrau and Shirin -- 3. Weaving Stories, Weaving Self: Layla and Majnun as Sufi Icons -- Part II -- 4. The Divine Cloak of Majesty: Material Culture in Sufi Practice -- 5. Mughal Dress and Spirituality: The Age of Sufi Kings -- 6. Safavid Figural Silks in Diplomacy: Rare Textiles of Novel Design -- Conclusion -- Appendix A: List of Khamsa Silks -- Appendix B: Summary of ‘Shirin and Khusrau’ by Amir Khusrau Dihlavi -- Appendix C: Summary of ‘Majnun and Layla’ by Amir Khusrau Dihlavi -- Glossary of Textile Terms -- Glossary of Persian and Arabic Terms -- List of Historic Figures -- Index