A touching sermon, Folio from a manuscript of Nigaristan

• Accession Number:AKM272.f245r
• Creator:Author: Ahmad b. Muhammad Ghaffari, Persian, died 1567 Scribe: Ahmad al-Shirazi
• Place:Iran, Shiraz (probably)
• Dimensions:38.7 cm × 25 cm × 6.4 cm
• Date:1573-74 CE/980 AH/AH 980
• Materials and Technique:Ink, opaque watercolour, and gold on paper

• The miniature painting "A touching sermon" is from an intact manuscript of Kitab-i Nigaristan, a collection of anecdotes and historical incidents written in prose by the historian and scholar Ahmad Muhammad Ghaffari (1504–1567/68) of Kashan in 1551–2. This illustrated manuscript, dated 1573, was probably produced in a Shiraz workshop. 

   

  See AKM272 for more information about the manuscript and links to the other illustrations. 

    

Further Reading 
 
This miniature is an illustration of an interior which is likely a mosque because of a pulpit on the right. On the patterned stone floor some figures encircle the pulpit. In the centre of the illustration, a crowned man sits on a carpet, holding a cloth to his eyes. Many of the people in this illustration hold their long sleeves to their eyes as if they are wiping away tears.  
 
The text describes a preacher who speaks of the injustice of a despot in his sermon. He relays the story in such a stirring way that all participants, including the governor present, burst into tears. The governor reacts to the sermon and later decides to resist the ruler. The story takes a turn after the preacher’s sermon. 
 
The composition of the interior scenes in the Nigaristan follows the same formula as "A touching sermon," and shows similar spatial division. Here, the action takes place on the tiled or bricked floor, and in the background, there is also a painted or a tiled wall. The main room is situated between the two text boxes and the side scene predominantly shows the façade of the same room. 
 
- Elika Palenzona-Djalili 
 
 
References 
Sims, Eleanor. Peerless Images: Persian Painting and Its Sources. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2002. ISBN: 9780300090383