Thanks to one of the first students of the French school for Oriental languages established by Colbert (Ecole des Jeunes de Langue), Pierre-Vincent Armain, who had been sent to Alexandria in Egypt in 1722 – 1725 in order to find Oriental manuscripts for the French King’s library, the extremely important illustrated Kulliyat of Mir Alisher Navoi which is kept now as Supplément turc 316 and 317 was acquired.
The manuscript, copied in two volumes in Herat by ‘Ali Hijrani between 930 and 933 AH (AD 1524 – 1527), was probably a luxury exemplary made for Sam Mirza, son of Tahmasb Safavi and governor of Herat between 1522 and 1529. Armain, who was expert in Turkish language, kept these two volumes at home until his death – in order to study the text – and his widow gave it to the King’s library only in 1757.
Later the specialists paid attention to the style of the six paintings of the manuscript, where most of the people are represented with the kizilbash turban, and some of them were of the opinion that the painter could be Shaykh-zada, pupil of the famous Bihzad. But no signature of the painter is visible. It is not clear in which collection the manuscript was kept when Armain found it: the binding was restored and a seal with the name of Habibullah is the only indication about the itinerary of the manuscript between Herat and Egypt.
You can learn more about the topic in the book-album "Illustrated manuscripts from Mawarannahr in the collections of France" (Volume XXIX) in the series "The Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan".
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