E-raamat: Sufi Lovers, Safavid Silks and Early Modern Identity

1. Narrative silks from the early modern period are discussed in detail from several perspectives, including royal v. independent production, consumer demographic, end use, local demand, and international trade. Earlier publications only consider these textiles in an artistic context as an off-shoot of painting, without consideration of the business perspective involved in the production and trade of textiles. 2. The poems are analyzed carefully with regard to the scenes, indicating that multiple authors and manuscripts inspired the designers. This is also a significant point that previous scholars have not explored. 3. Properties of the silks, including materials and techniques, attest to the popularity of the subject matter in a rare moment of history (ca. 1550-1650) when this type of imagery is produced on textiles. The luxurious materials indicate a trend among the elite, and the ideological messages transmitted through figural iconography among the upper classes. 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.