Folio 53 (text, recto and verso), from a manuscript of the Divan (Collection of Works) of Anvari

The recto and verso side of the folio features two columns of Persian text written in black ink and nasta’liq script. It contains the second half of a poem in praise of the grand vizier, Nasiruddin Abu’l-Fath Tahir ibn Muzaffar. The folio belongs to an illustrated copy of the Divan of Anvari commissioned by the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) in 1588 and in Lahore. The poet Anvari (1126-1189) is considered one of the greatest figures in Persian literature. His panegyric in honor of the Seljuq sultan, Ahmad Sanjar (r. 1118-1157) earned him royal favor and the patronage of two of Sanjar’s successors. Anvari’s poems were collected in a Divan, which contains eulogies, satire, panegyrics, and other forms of poetry and prose.