Cartier Hafiz

The Cartier Hafiz is a 16th-century copy of the Divan of Hafez by the 14th century poet Hafez, named after its previous owner the Parisian jeweler Louis Cartier (1875–1942). It is a medium-sized (29×18.2 cm) but luxurious volume, with a lacquer cover, 176 folios and five paintings, including one that was removed and lost during World War II. In modern times, the manuscript was dispersed by Stuart Cary Welch, and its folios are now spread between various museums and collections.

The Cartier Hafiz was created by a court atelier, as demonstrated by its quality, and two different artist worked on its miniatures: Shaykh Zadeh in Herat, and Sultan Muhammad in Tabriz. The calligraphy may be the work of Sultan Muhammad Nur. In the late 1520s, Shaykh Zadeh made two of the miniatures, the Sermon in a mosque, which he signed with a small graffito, and the now-lost polo scene. Shaykh Zadeh's patron, the Herat potentate Hoseyn Khan Shamlu, is probably depicted in these two miniatures as a mature man with a full mustache.

Three more miniatures were added, probably around 1531, by the court artist Sultan Muhammad (Soltān-Mohammad): he signed the Celebration of Id and the Allegory of drunkenness, and also probably painted The lovers picnicking, which is in the same style.