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Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy
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Ghazals of Amir Khusraw Dihlavi
AUTHOR/CREATOR
Calligrapher: Sultan 'Ali Mashhadi
CREATED/PUBLISHED
ca. 1500
NOTES
Dimensions of Written Surface: 10.5 (w) x 18.6 (h) cm
Script: nasta'liq
This calligraphic fragment includes a number of lyric poems (ghazals) composed by the Persian poet Amir Khusraw Dihlavi (d. 725/1325), whose pen-name or signature (takhallus) "Khusraw" appears at the top of the central column of diagonal verses.
The ghazals are executed in black nasta'liq script in three columns. Written in diagonal, the verses appear on a beige paper and are framed by cloud bands on a background painted in gold. Several triangular panels fill in the spaces remaining at the intersection of the diagonal verses and the rectangular frame: these panels include inscriptions that specify that the remaining part of the poem (baqiyat [al-ghazal]) continues beyond the formal (spatial) separation. In other cases, such as at the top of the central column of text, a different ghazal is introduced by an inscription in red ink. The inscription reads: "also from him" (wa lahu aydan) and asks for God's forgiveness of Amir Khusraw's sins.
In the bottom left corner of the rightmost column appears the artist's signature, which reads: mashaqahu al-'abd (written by the servant) Sultan 'Ali Mashhadi.
Sultan 'Ali Mashhadi (d. 920/1514) was active at the court of the last Timurid ruler Sultan Husayn Bayqara (r. 1470-1506) in Herat, where he was a contemporary of the famous painter Bihzad (d. 941/1535) and the prolific poet Jami (d. 897/1492). He was responsible for copying a number of royal manuscripts and composing inscriptions to be placed on royal buildings (Huart 1972: 221-222). A master of nasta'liq script, he also composed a treatise (risalah) on the rules of writing, the moral qualities of calligraphers, how to make ink and paper, and how to use the reed pen (qalam) and other writing implements (see Qadi Ahmad 1959: 106-125).
This text calligraphed by Sultan 'Ali Mashhadi is framed by a wide border painted in gold and is pasted to a sheet of paper decorated by white, blue, and red marbling (abri or ebru). Although the original text was executed ca. 1500 in Herat, it was pasted to the marble paper at later date.
SUBJECT
Arabic calligraphy
Nasta'liq
Islamic manuscripts
Islamic calligraphy
Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
Arabic script calligraphy
MEDIUM
15.6 (w) x 22.9 (h) cm
CALL NUMBER
1-87-154.33
REPOSITORY
Library of Congress, African and Middle Eastern Division, Washington, D.C. 20540
DIGITAL ID
ascs 082
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.amed/ascs.082
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