Jamshid writes a message magnifying bookmark

This magnifying bookmark features the image Jamshid writes a message on the rocks (detail), from the Garden (Bustan) by Sa`di (d. 1291), Per 297.22 from the Chester Beatty collections. 

The poet Sa`di tells this brief tale about Jamshid, the mythical wise king from ancient Iran. While riding in the wilderness, the king stopped beside a flowing mountain stream. Inspired by its everlasting beauty, he wrote some lines of poetry onto the nearby rockface: “At this spring, just as I do today, many other kings have lived and breathed before my time, and they have passed on since then. We all seized the world by force, but not one of us could take it with us to the grave”. In this painting, the king’s servants stand waiting, one of them holding his pencase and inkpot. In black ink on the rock, the king has already written the first words of his message “at this spring…” The king’s graffiti leaves a reflective message for future readers, who may also stop at this beautiful place and think about the temporary nature of power.

This handy bookmark contains a magnifying panel.

Bookmark size 20 x 5.8 x 0.1 cm.

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