The third volume of the Bodleian Library’s manuscript of Kitāb i Samak ʿayyār, a Persian illustrated novel dating no later than the 14th century, depicts a mourning scene with two female musicians playing the harp and frame drum on folio 191b (Ouseley 381). This exceptional document allows for a better understanding of the relationship between literary, figurative, and ethnographic sources from different eras, in a wide area encompassing the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The analysis of the story depicted in the manuscript and the relationship between text and illustrations provides a context for Ouseley 381 within the vast and intertwined history of oral storytelling accompanied by illustrated scenes and the traditions of ritualized weeping accompanied by musical instruments.

N. Staiti, S. Bruni (2024). MOURNING WITH FRAME DRUM AND HARP IN A FOURTEEN-CENTURY PERSIAN MANUSCRIPT: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND ETHNOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE. MUSIC IN ART, 49(1-2), 65-81.

MOURNING WITH FRAME DRUM AND HARP IN A FOURTEEN-CENTURY PERSIAN MANUSCRIPT: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND ETHNOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE

N. Staiti
;
S. Bruni
2024

Abstract

The third volume of the Bodleian Library’s manuscript of Kitāb i Samak ʿayyār, a Persian illustrated novel dating no later than the 14th century, depicts a mourning scene with two female musicians playing the harp and frame drum on folio 191b (Ouseley 381). This exceptional document allows for a better understanding of the relationship between literary, figurative, and ethnographic sources from different eras, in a wide area encompassing the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The analysis of the story depicted in the manuscript and the relationship between text and illustrations provides a context for Ouseley 381 within the vast and intertwined history of oral storytelling accompanied by illustrated scenes and the traditions of ritualized weeping accompanied by musical instruments.
2024
N. Staiti, S. Bruni (2024). MOURNING WITH FRAME DRUM AND HARP IN A FOURTEEN-CENTURY PERSIAN MANUSCRIPT: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND ETHNOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE. MUSIC IN ART, 49(1-2), 65-81.
N. Staiti; S. Bruni
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/994594
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