Zenanname - زناننامه

This volume contains a mesnevi describing the merits and defects of the women of various countries as composed by Fazıl Bey Enderuni. His death is alleged to have taken place in 1224 AH (1809-10 CE) according to Hammer, but Rieu places it a year later at 1225 AH (1810-11 CE). The text contains 40 illustrations mostly occupying three-quarters of a folio. These are of the same date as the mansucript and show considerable influence from Western European artists. The illustrations are described by Nora Titley as follows :. (1) f 1v. (9.5 x 7 cm). Unvan which has a garish design in­corporating vases of stylised flowers and a leaf pattern, with much use of gold in the borders and background. (2) f 7r (14 x 13 cm). General view of women taking their recreation in a park. Includes one woman smoking, another on a swing, others entertained by musicians (def and fiddle players) who have a monkey. Bostancı wearing blue ʂalvar and a red barata. Women are wearing entaris or feraces with kuşaks and takkes. Kiosks, water and fountains in the background and a covered ox-cart. (3) f 8r (14.2 x 7 cm). Woman of South-East Asia, wearing feathers in a ribbon on her head. Floral patterned beige robe worn under a three-quarter length red garment with a square neckline. Slippers with turned-up points. Long black hair. Pearls and rings. Mosque and palm tree in background. (4) f 9r (15x7 cm). Persian woman, wearing a shawl over her head; she has a blue short-sleeved open jacket over a red robe. Wide trousers to the ankle, kuşak and gold turned-up slippers. (5) f 11r (13.3 x 7 cm). Woman of Baghdad carrying one red pot in her hand and another on her head. Wearing a black veil and white robe, red slippers. (6) f 12r (11.8 x 7 cm). A woman of the Sudan. She has bare breasts and is wearing a white cloth over her shoulders. Mosque in background. (7) f 13r (13.5 x 7 cm). Ethiopian woman. Bare breasts, red wide-sleeved gown and a white shawl over one shoulder. Red cap and red turned-up slippers. (8) f 14r (12.7 x 7 cm). Woman of the Yemen. Wearing a white veil, green cloak over head and shoulders, pink gown, white over-garment and wide ankle-length trousers. Yellow slippers. (9) f 14v (12.3 x 7 cm). Woman of the Maghrib. Wearing a shawl over blue and gold cap. Red robe buttoned to the waist, belt with large fastenings. Black hair with orna­ments at the end of long tresses. Silver anklets, red slippers. (10) f 15v (15 x 11 cm). Two Tunisian women. One is wearing a brocade tunic, knee-length red gown, white slip, ornate gold belt, grey cloak and a red cap. The other has a round pink cap, red gown, white apron and slip, green belt with gold fastenings and wide pink ankle-length trousers. Ships and fortress in the background. (11) f 18r (12.3 x 7 cm). Woman of Hecaz (Hijaz), province in which Mekke and Medine are located. Wearing a black cloak and a blue knee-length gown. Yellow scarf on her head and red slippers. (12) f 20v (14.5 x 7 cm). Woman from Damascus. Wearing a green brocade gown and a matching hat, red ferace with elbow-length sleeves, white şalvar and an ornate belt with large fastenings. Yellow slippers. (13) f 21v (15.5 x 11.8 cm). Two Syrian women. One has a yellow, floral-patterned gown, white slip and trousers, green shawl (kuşak) round her hips and a pillbox hat. The other is wearing a green gown with a black shawl round her hips and ankle-length yellow trousers. Her yellow cap rises to a peak and has a red cloth at the back. Red slippers. (14) f 22v (13.5 x 11.5 cm). Anatolian peasant woman with a bird perching on her finger. She is leading a black mule which is carrying a bundle of wood. Wearing a high brown hat, red tunic, short white gown, yellow kuşak, short black tight-fitting trousers and sandals with laces which are tied crisscross over her ankles, and white socks. (15) f 23v (11.7 x 12 cm). Two women of the Aegean. One has a green pointed cap, a short jacket with long sleeves, white gown and stockings, pink slippers. The other is wearing a yellow scarf round her head, short white gown, blue garters and white court shoes with blue bows. A man o''war and three boats with lateen sails are on the sea in the background. (16) f 24r (12.5 x 7 cm). Spanish woman. Wearing a long pink gown with a tight bodice, small waist and full skirt decorated with gold. She has a grey wig with ribbon round it. Carrying a fan and wearing pearls and bracelets. (17) f 28r (10.5 x 9 cm). Three women of Istanbul, one of whom is a Amazigh. The latter is Black and is wearing a blue gown, white veil and yellow slippers. All three wearing a başörtü and binis. (18) f 28v (14.5 x 7 cm). Woman of Istanbul wearing high pattens (nalın), a kuşak round her hips, an entari with a fur lining, white gold-striped şalvar and takke. Holding a long scarf. Rumeli Hısar (?) in background. (19) f 29v (13.2 x 7 cm). Foreign woman, wife of a merchant of the Ottoman Empire. Carrying a fan and a parasol, she is wearing a pink hat trimmed with green, a white small-waisted gown with a yellow bodice and a pink entari. (20) f 31v (15.7 x 7.8 cm). A Greek Christian woman from Anatolia. Yellow brocade frock, long-sleeved with lace cuffs. Red kuşak worn round the hips, white ferace with elbow-length sleeves. Rowing boats (kayık) on water in background. (21) f 33r (11.8 x 7 cm). Armenian woman wearing a white scarf round her head and shoulders and a blue biniş. (22) f 33v (12 x 7 cm). Jewish woman wearing a yellow headdress and pink şalvar and a mauve brocade gown with a floral pattern. Holding a long-stemmed pipe (gubuk). see also 23A below. (23) f 34r (11.7 x 7 cm). Roma woman carrying sieves, wearing a kuşak round the waist, yellow şalvar and a red over-garment. Encampment of tents in the background. (24) f 35r (13 x 7 cm). Greek woman, or possibly a Rumelian Turkish woman, wearing a scarf over her head, a white gown under a brown tunic and orange şalvar. Long tresses ornamented at intervals with silver decorations. (25) f 35v (11.7 x 7 cm). Albanian woman with a high pointed hat, white gown with large sleeves, red sleeveless tunic, white şalvar, gold belt, red slippers, brown over­garment. Houses in the background. (26) f 36v (13 x 7 cm). Bosnian woman wearing red şalvar and similar clothes to 25 above. (27) f 37r (13 x 7 cm). Tatar woman carrying an earthenware flask and wearing a scarf round her head, a yellow kuşak, pink şalvar, brown gown lined with pink, yellow slippers. Well(?) in the background. (28) f 38r (15.6 x 7 cm). Georgian woman carrying a similar flask to 27 above and wearing a white gown, red ferace, red şalvar, gold belt, a short sleeveless jacket and a red hat with a blue pom-pom. (29) f 39r (12.5 x 7 cm). Circassian woman wearing a yellow gown under a short-sleeved red over-garment, muslin slip, red şalvar, gold belt with large fastenings, round red hat, yellow slippers. (30) f 39v (10.4 x 11.5 cm). Women of a Christian com­munity. One wearing a floral-patterned gown, fur-lined sleeveless jacket, silver belt with large fastenings and red shoes. The other has a red cap with a shawl over it, white gown, brown tunic or smock and yellow slippers. Churches in the background. (31) f 40r (10.4 x 7 cm). A Christian woman carrying a basket and garland of roses. Wearing a square green cap, a low-cut pink gown with a floral design on the bodice which reveals the breasts, a fur-lined sleeveless jacket, gold slippers. (32) f 41r (14.3 x 7 cm). German woman wearing a broad-brimmed white hat which is decorated with a red ribbon, a spray of flowers, ostrich feathers and long ribbons. Grey gown with a floral-patterned apron and a tight pink bodice. Holding a fan and wearing a scarf round the shoulders, bracelets, black shoes and a necklace with a cross on it. (33) f 42r (14x7 cm). Russian woman wearing a long grey gown with a vertical gold stripe, a yellow scarf round her shoulders, dark blue ferace or over-garment, black shoes. No hat. (34) f 43r (14.2 x 7 cm) (see preliminary note above). French woman in a costume of the French Revolution. Tall pointed red hat with a black brim, salmon-pink gown with a tight bodice, small waist and full skirt. Red, white and blue striped sash. White slippers. Holding a cane. (35) f 43v (11.8 x 7 cm). English woman carrying a basket of flowers. Wearing a tall green hat, similar in shape to the Welsh national hat, decorated with feathers and a red bow. Frothy white gown trimmed with lace, elbow-length sleeves. Red jacket. Mountains (Welsh?) in the background. (36) f 44r (11.5 x 7 cm). Dutch woman with her hands in a muff, against a snow-covered landscape. Wearing a green garment lined with fur, a fur-trimmed black shawl and black shoes. (37) f 44v (10.5 x 7 cm). Woman of the ''New World'' (Turtle Island?). Bare breasts and feet. Fur tunic and knee-length fur trousers. Fur hat decorated with strings of pearls(?). (38) f 46v (16 x 12.5 cm). Birth of a baby in a Christian household. A midwife is delivering the child while the mother, sitting in a special chair, is supported by seven female companions. Cradle in the foreground. View through the window of boats (kayıks) on the ser (Bosphorus?). (Missing). (39) f 49r (18 x 13.5 cm). Scene of women in a hammam. Some wearing the high pattens (nalın). Basin with running taps. Women bathing and washing their hair. One woman wearing very high pattens and gold-striped şalvar. (Missing). (40) f 51r (19.7 x 13.7 cm). Scene outside a brothel at night. Two women looking out of windows. Seventeen men thronging the area outside, two knocking on the doors. Some arc holding lanterns. Night sky with crescent moon, stars and clouds. (41) f 54v (12 x 10 cm). Portrait of a scribe holding a book and a pen. Pencase and inkpot, scrolls and books are all around him. He is wearing the kâtibi kavuk and red şalvar and a blue kaftan. The manuscript contains an inscription at the end of the text bearing the date 1190 AH (1776-77 CE). This cannot be the true date of copying, as the original text is known to have been first composed in the early 1790s, after the Hubanname. As Titley has identified the costumes of the French women as post-Revolutionary, the text was likely copied in the latter part of the 1790s.

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Other copies of the Zenanname can be found at Or 7093 text 2, Or 7095 text 1, Or 7246, Or 12240, Or 13983 text II, and Add MS 10006. Copies of Enderuni''s Hubanname are found at Or 7083 text III, Or 7093 text I, Or 7095 text III, and Or 12240, and a divan of his poetry is contained in Or 8891. For more information on Fazıl Bey Enderuni, see HOP IV, p. 222; and Rieu, Catalogue of the Turkish Manuscripts in the British Museum, p. 205.