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'Id (feast day) prayer for good fortune

AUTHOR/CREATOR
Calligrapher: Agha Muhammad 'Ali

CREATED/PUBLISHED
18th-19th centuries

NOTES
Dimensions of Written Surface: 17.9 (w) x 32.9 (h) cm

Script: Indian naskh

This calligraphic fragment includes two bayts (verses) wishing its owner prosperity and happiness on the occasion of an 'id.

'id shud jashn-i nu mubarak bad / taj-i dawlat tura bi-tarak bad / hafiz u nasirat bi-har du jahan / sura-yi fath ba tabarak bad

It is 'id, congratulations on the new celebration / May the crown of fortune be your summit / May the Chapters of Victory and Blessing / Be your protectors and supporters in both worlds.

In this prayer probably written for the celebration of the New Year ('Id-i Noruz), a patron is wished protection through two Qur'anic chapters, namely Surat al-Fath (Victory, Qur'an 48) and Surat Tabarak (Blessing), otherwise known as Surat al-Mulk (The Kingdom, Qur'an 67). These two verses of the Qur'an are known for their apotropaic and protective powers, and thus are appropriate in a prayer wishing success and well-being.

The verses are executed in Indian naskh script in dark brown ink and are framed by cloud bands on a background painted with a light brown wash. Each bayt is executed in diagonal and contained in a separate rectangular frame. The whole of the text frame has been pasted to a larger sheet of beige paper backed by cardboard.

In the lower left corner appears the calligrapher's signature, which reads: mashaqahu al-faqir (written by the poor) Agha Muhammad 'Ali (or Muhammad 'Ali Agha). Part of the signature -- along with the last word (bad) of the poem's final verse -- has been filled in later, since a part of the original calligraphy was lost or damaged.

Muhammad 'Ali is otherwise unrecorded. However, judging from the fragment's script and theme (e.g., 1-04-713.19.3, 1-04-713.19.49, 1-04-713.19.48, and 1-84-154.51), it is possible to suggest that this piece was executed in India sometime during the 18th or 19th century as a New Year's gift to an eminent patron.

SUBJECT
Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
Arabic calligraphy
Islamic manuscripts
Islamic calligraphy
Arabic script calligraphy
Indian naskh

MEDIUM
27.8 (w) x 43.4 (h) cm

CALL NUMBER
1-85-154.99

REPOSITORY
Library of Congress, African and Middle Eastern Division, Washington, D.C. 20540

DIGITAL ID
ascs 142
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.amed/ascs.142

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