Mir 'Ali manuscripttext per Quatrain by Rumi written in black Nasta'liq script by the calligrapher Mir 'Ali Heravi (d. 951/1544-5) during the Shaybanid period. (Oh) wine-bringer, because of (my) grief for you, (my) mind and spirit left / Give (me) wine so that (my) pride may disappear. / My patience and ability are spent in this way, / I too would vanish, if only I could. Dimensions of Written Surface: 8.3 (w) x 4.7 (h) cm Other calligraphic fragments written by, or attributed to, Mir 'Ali are held in the collections of the Library of Congress. See, for example, 1-04-713.19.38, 1-87-154.158, 1-87-154.159, and 1-90-154.180. Saqi bi-ghamm-i tu 'aql u jan raft / May dah ka takalluf az mayan raft / Shud tab u tavanam andarin rah / Man ham baravam agar tavan raft The poet describes the wine-bringer (saqi) as the object of his "intoxicated" love. His abilities disappear "in this way" (i.e., in loving him/her), and he wishes that he -- much like his abilities conquered by the effects of inebriation -- also would fade away. The text is signed by the "poor" (faqir) Mir 'Ali, much as it is in a similar fragment in the Sackler Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C. (Lowry and Beach 1988, 355, no. 437). Mir 'Ali Heravi (d. 951/1544-5) was a calligrapher in nasta'liq script active in the city of Herat (modern-day Afghanistan) during the 16th century until he was taken to Bukhara (modern-day Uzbekistan) in 935/1528-9 by the Shaybanid ruler 'Ubaydallah Khan Uzbek (Qadi Ahmad 1959: 126-131). This calligraphic piece includes an iambic pentameter quatrain, or ruba'i, composed by the Persian poet Rumi (d. 672/1273). Written diagonally in black nasta'liq script on a white-and-blue marbled paper, the text is also decorated by four illuminated triangles (or thumb pieces) in the spaces left empty by the intersection of the diagonal lines and the rectangular frame. The text panel is framed by two borders in pink and beige painted with interlacing gold vines, and is pasted onto a larger piece of paper decorated with blue flower motifs. The verses read: Calligraphy, Arabic. Calligraphy, Persian. Manuscripts, Persian--Washington (D.C.) Arabic script calligraphy Illuminated Islamic manuscripts Islamic calligraphy Islamic manuscripts Nasta'liq Poetry Afghanistan Uzbekistan Tajikistan https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.amed/ascs.217