Complete Works by Ali-Shir Nava'i Facsimile Edition

The Complete Works by Ali-Shir Nava'i is a richly refurbished manuscript of the works of Amir Ali-Shir Nava'i, the great Chagatai poet and statesman whose literary authority shaped the cultural world of Timurid and post-Timurid Central Asia. Copied at the end of the fifteenth century, with colophons dated 1495-1496 and 1496-1497, the manuscript was probably transcribed in Herat and later embellished at Qazvin during the 1580s.

A Manuscript of Poetic Prestige

Written in elegant nasta'liq script, the codex presents its text in twenty-seven lines arranged across four columns, a format well suited to the visual rhythm of Persianate poetry. Its scale, polished cream paper, ruled text panels, and lavish headings reveal a manuscript conceived not merely for reading, but for ceremonial appreciation.

Illumination and Later Refurbishment

The manuscript’s decoration is especially striking. A double-folio illustrated frontispiece opens the volume, accompanied by illuminated borders and a devotional heading. Numerous illuminated title pages, medallions, floral fields, and gold details articulate the structure of the collected works. These later additions transformed an already important poetic compilation into a courtly object of exceptional refinement.

A Courtly Image Out of Place

The frontispiece is remarkable because its subject does not correspond directly to Nava'i’s poetry. The scene belongs instead to the visual language of Safavid court culture, where hunting, attendance, and enthronement expressed ideals of power and refinement. Its presence turns the manuscript into more than a literary collection: it becomes a carefully staged object, adapted to later tastes and made to speak in the pictorial language of a new elite audience.

Binding, Ornament, and Royal Taste

Its original gold-block pressed leather binding, with brown leather doublures and intricate floral decoration, testifies to the luxury of Safavid manuscript culture. The refurbishment suggests a renewed appreciation of Nava'i’s poetry in a world where books served as instruments of memory, prestige, and cultivated taste.