Antique hand painted illustration to Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, classic Persian miniature painting on bone-like plate (bone imitation), signed by the artist in ornate Persian script in the middle edge of the artwork, probably early-mid 20th century. The painting is framed in the elaborate hand painted mat and vintage handmade Khatam Kari glass frame.

The painting is c.3.3/4" x 8" [9.5cm x 20.4cm]; the hand painted mat is c.5.3/4" x 9.7/8" [14.7cm x 25.1cm]; the wooden Khatam frame is 9.1/4" x 13.3/8" [23.5cm x 34cm]; a few small edge damages of the frame [see photos]; the frame is varnished, new hanger, overall the artwork and framing are in very good condition.

The young woman with the wine vessel stands for Youth and sensual pleasures, the looking down old man on the floor symbolizes the passage of time. The painting is an illustration to The Rubaiyat, Quatrain XXIII.

First Edition of Fitzgerald's translation:

"Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,
Before we too into the Dust descend.
Dust into Dust, and under Dust, to lie,
Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and--sans End."

XXIII [2nd Edition]:

"And we, that now make merry in the Room They left, and Summer dresses in new bloom, Ourselves must we beneath the Couch of Earth Descend—ourselves to make a Couch—for whom?"

The quatrain cautions to make most of our time here, on the face of the earth; we have a limited time to spend. We will turn to dust, from where we come. Dust to Dust and under the dirt we lie without the pleasure of wine, without the song and without the company of the singer (companion) and without the end, for death is going to be everlasting.

Khatam frame:

Khatam is an ancient Persian technique of inlaying. It is a version of marquetry where art forms are made by decorating the surface of wooden articles with delicate pieces of wood, bone and metal precisely-cut intricate geometric patterns. Khatam-kari or khatam-bandi refers to the art of crafting a khatam. Designing of inlaid articles is a highly elaborate process. There are sometimes more than 400 pieces per square inch in a work of average quality.Thin rods of different colored woods, ivory, bone, brass, silver, etc. were glued together into long bunches that could have a round, rectangular, or polygonal cross-section. The bunches were cut into thin slices and combined with others to create intricate patterns.



Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) "the Astronomer-Poet of Persia", was famous during his lifetime not as a poet but as an astronomer and mathematician. The earliest reference to his having written poetry is found in his biography by al-Isfahani, written 43 years after his death. These verses lay in obscurity until 1859, when FitzGerald published a free adaption of this Persian poetry. As a result, The Rubaiyat became one of the best-known and most often quoted English classics.

"Omar wrote poetry, and while his rhymes received little attention in their day, they were rediscovered and translated into beautiful English--more than seven centuries later--by a gentleman and scholar named Edward FitzGerald. It was a meeting of minds, a great collaboration of the past and the present, and FitzGerald's rendition of those passionate verses has become one of the best loved poem cycles in the English language. With their concern for the here and now, as opposed to the hereafter, Omar Khayyam's quatrains are as romantic today as they were hundreds of years ago; they are a tribute to the power of one moment's pleasure over a lifetime of sorrow, of desire over the vicissitudes of time.

Rates vary per zone/ country -estimates only [not incl. zone 9, AK & HI], we will adjust the shipping costs with the invoice.

US: Priority (c.2-4 days) ---------- $36.50
Canada: Priority (c.2-7 weeks) ---- $58.50
World: Priority (c.2-10 weeks) ---- $78.50