Original 1940 Swiss Lithograph After Pre-1436 Persian Painting

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An excellent rare First Edition vintage full color offset lithograph, print, of Persian painting "Muhammad's Visit To Paradise". The original … Read more An excellent rare First Edition vintage full color offset lithograph, print, of Persian painting "Muhammad's Visit To Paradise". The original artwork is a miniature from a manuscript of the MI'RAJ-NAMA or account of the ascension of Muhammad, copied in Eastern Turki (Uigur) script at Herat by Malik Bakhshi in 840 H./1436 A.D. The manuscript is in possession of Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. The manuscript comes from the Collection of Gallard, translator of the Thousands And One Nights, who acquired it in Constantinople in 1672.

In a dream the Prophet was conveyed through the Seven Heavens - and this tradition was elaborated in later treatment of the subject. In a single mounted on the human headed steed Buraq (guided by the Archangel Gabriel) he visited the realms of heaven and hell. He is here hovering on his miraculous steed over the fields of paradise in which, in being Friday, the Islamic holiday, the huris are paying visits to the one another and exchanging nosegays of flowers. Visible "glory" in the form of halo or mandala was probably first represented in Iranian lands. Very often (as in this plate) the face of a holy personage was concealed by it or by a curtain, since Islamic custom wished to avoid any chance of iconolatry.

This original offset lithograph comes from a rare First Limited Edition art folio published in Switzerland in 1940. Signed in the print. First Limited Edition. Printed on heavy wove paper, on one side. Numbered at the lower left corner. High-end quality. Excellent condition - never framed. See less