West,CheouCh’enandShūkeiSessonintheEast,asoneoftheverygreatestpainters
oftheearlysixteenth-centuryworld)intendstoevokethemoodoftheentireDīvān,
notoneparticularepisode.
Sulṭān-Muḥammad’s chosen scene is asamā‘, the spiritual ‘audition’ of the
dervisheswiththeirmusicanddance,wavingthelongsleevesoftheircaftansas
theyspiralin‘drunken’state.Moreextantfifteenth-andsixteenth-centurypaint-
ingsofthesamā‘gracetheDīvānofḤāfiẓthantheworksofanyotherPersianpoet,
includingevenmanuscriptsofMawlānāJalālal-DīnRūmīhimself(whicharerarely
illustrated).SuchpaintingsunderscorehowmuchtraditionalreadersintheIranian
andIndo-MuslimworldsperceivedḤāfiẓ’sDīvāntobeapre-eminentallegoryofSufi
loveandmysticalfrenzy.Sulṭān-Muḥammad,mindfulofthepoet’splayfullypara-
doxicalpraisethroughouttheDīvānoftherindorspiritual‘rogue’,thatis,the
dervishwho,outofhumility,deliberatelyseekstoshockandcourtthe‘blame’
(malāmat)oftheconventionallypiousthroughapparentlyoutrageousbehaviour,
hereportrayseverytypeofmystic:fromlaymenenthusiasticallythrowingthem-
selvesintothedance,tothreewildlycaricatured,clownlikeqalandardervisheswith
shaveneyebrows,moustachesandbeards,tothelowerleft.
Underpowerfulmagnification,thevividdetailsofthisprodigiouspaintingretain
alltheirsharpnessandloomintoboldrelief,especiallyunderrakinglight–likethe
kindthatmighthavebeencastbyaflickeringcandleheldbytheprincewhoowned
thisvolumeandgazedonitsparticularswithvisionheightenedbywinelacedwith
cannabis(ShāhṬahmāsb,asweknow,wasmostpartialtothe‘ruby’and‘emerald’
untilrepentanceinmiddleage):fromthetinypearlyrowsofteethofthesingerwith
thetambourine,totheindividuallypaintedstrandsofeverybeardandthethickly
appliedwhipped-creamfoldsoftheturbans,theraisedswirlsupontheclaywinejars
(almostinvisibletothenakedeye,butamazinglyclearunderaglass),theencrusted
gemsoftheangels’crowns,andthealmostundetectablegoldspotssprinkledupon
thewallstomaketheentireilluminationglow.Tothelowerright,atipsyprincewith
turban-egret(PrinceSāmMīrzā?)extendshisfoottobekissedbyanotherparticipant
inadrunkenstupor;infact,Sulṭān-Muḥammadslylyamuseshimselfbydrawingthree
legstothisstrangeprince:oneextended,thetwoothersfoldedbeneathhim;the
artistsignedthispictureinminutecharacterswithinthe‘tilework’overthelintelof
thepalace’sdoor:‘theworkofSulṭānMuḥammad’(‘amalaSulṭān-Muḥammad).
ThisilluminationaccompaniesanotherofḤāfiẓ’sghazals,whichitdirectlyfaces
intheoriginalmanuscript.Oneofthisghazal’sverses(thoughnotincludedin
Khānlarī’scriticaledition)appearsencapsulatedabovethepicture:
Giriftasāghar-i‘ishratfirishta-yiRaḥmat,
Zijur‘abarrukh-iḥūruparīgulābzada.Mercy’sangelgrippedcommunion’scup
Andpouredadraftthatpinkedahuri’s
Andafairy’scheek.^11Ḥāfiẓ’s Romantic Imagery and Language of Love 217