15th-Century Book By The Famed Persian Poet Hafez Recovered By Dutch Detective
A picture taken on January 16, 2020 at the apartment of Dutch art crime investigator Arthur Brand in Amsterdam shows a rare 15th-century book of poems by Shams-ud-din Muhammad Hafiz's "Divan". - A stolen 15th-century book by the famed Persian poet Hafez h
The gold-leafed volume worth around one million euros ($1.1 million) was found to be missing from the collection of an Iranian antiques dealer after his death in Germany in 2007.(Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
Along with Rumi, Hafez -- full name Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafiz Shirazi -- is one of the best known mystical bards. American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson called him the "Prince of Persian poets".(Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
A stolen 15th-century book by the famed Persian poet Hafez has been recovered by a Dutch art detective after an international "race against time" that drew the alleged interest of Iran's secret service.(Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
The theft of the manuscript, which dates from 1462 to 1463, was discovered by the family of book dealer Djafar Ghazy after he died in an old people's home in Munich in 2007. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
Iran had already shown an interest in the case, saying it would take "all legal means" to get back the manuscripts that were found in 2011, after Germany gave two back but decided most of the rest were legally owned by the collector, German news reports s