Occasional Papers Series

In 1959 Vladimir Minorsky, a renowned scholar of the history and languages of Iran, published his English translation of the late sixteenth-century Gulistan-i Hunar (Rose Garden of Art) by Qadi Ahmad. Minorsky’s additional notes supplement the original text, which consisted of biographical entries on artists arranged through the pedagogical lines of masters and pupils up to 1600. The volume not only shed light on calligraphic practices in pre-modern Iran, but it also gave impetus to the study of Persian manuscripts and the arts of the book. It further prompted new directions of research into the topic. Almost sixty years later, the importance of the publication cannot be overestimated, and it remains a critical reference to this day.

This interactive digital edition of Calligraphers and Painters features an introduction by Simon Rettig, F│S assistant curator of Islamic art, an updated bibliography, and links to other resources. More than forty masterpieces from the collections of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery illustrate the text. With this new presentation, we invite you to meet the luminaries described in Qadi Ahmad’s treatise and discover some of the celebrated works they created.

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