SAADI OF SHIRAZ (C.1210-1292)

Persia, 1615 CE/1024 AH. MS 043

Abu-Muhammad Muslih al-Din bin Abdallah Shirazi, or more colloquially known as Saadi of Shiraz, was a Persian Sufim mystic poet from modern day Shiraz, Iran. The Bustan, composed in 1257, comprises ten chapters on moralistic topics from the Koran: 1. Concerning Justice, Counsel, and the Administration of Government; 2. Concerning Benevolence; 3. Concerning Love; 4. Concerning Humility; 5. Concerning Resignation; 6 Concerning Contentment; 7. Concerning Education; 8. Concerning Gratitude; 9. Concerning Repentance; 10. Concerning Prayer. The Gulistan, composed in 1258, is a lighter and more humorous work, featuring stories and personal anecdotes. The chapters consist of small stories that discuss the overall chapter topic: 1. The Manners of Kings; 2. The Morals of Dervishes; 3. On the Excellence of Content; 4. On the Advantages of Silence; 5. On Love and Youth; 6. On Weakness and Old Age; 7. On the Effects of Education; 8: On Rules for Conduct in Life. Both works paint garden and floral imagery within the context of scriptural admonitions to live a moral life, later compiled into a book called the Diwan. His works saw a resurgence in the 19th century European Romantic literary circles, captivated by writers such as Voltaire and Emerson.

The University of Oregon’s seventeenth-century version of this text was originally owned by the art critic and scholar John Ruskin (1819-1900). It was then given to Anne E. Somerscales with a note from Ruskin: “My Dear Annie, the books have come safely. I’m going to give you this Persian one, which is good to show children what Eastern books are, and I’ll send you on loan something better than the other. Ever your affect, J.R.” It is not known when or how this text ended up in the hands of Edward Sanford Burgess. Our version of the text contains lavishly illuminated borders surrounding every page of the text (figure 1). Every folio has a gold floral border, sometimes with blue and pink pigment embellishments. The frontispiece of the manuscript features a floral carpet-page design, with a heavy use of blue and gold pigment, as well as red, pink, and green for the floral details.

Bibliography

Saadi of Shiraz. Gulistan wa Bustan (The Rose Garden and the Fruit Garden). Persia, 1615 CE/1024 AH. University of Oregon Special Collections & University Archives, MS 043. https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/3uoa1r/CP71269067990001451

Sa’di, trans. A. Hart Edwards. The Bustan of Sadi. Sh.M.Ashraf: 1911.

Sa’di, trans. Burton, Richard Francis. The Golestan of Saadi: One of the World’s Greatest Masterpieces. Iran Chamber Society:

Birch, Dinah. “Sa’di of Shiraz,” n The Oxford Companion to English Literature. Oxford University Press: 2009.

“Persian Language & Literature: Saadi Shirazi.” Iran Chamber Society. Persian Language & Literature: Saadi Shirazi (iranchamber.com)