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On Display
Page of Nasta‘liq Calligraphy
  • Accession Number:AKM145
  • Place:India
  • Dimensions:39.2 x 25.4 cm
  • Date:1520
  • Materials and Technique:Opaque watercolour, ink, and gold on paper

My God, if the entire universe should be blown by wind Let not the light of fortune be extinguished And if the entire universe should become flooded with water Let not the mark of the unfortunate be washed away!

The above Persian quatrain, written in a heavy nasta‘liq, is typical of the hand of the prolific Persian calligrapher Mir ‘Ali of Herat (died 1544). Mir ‘Ali’s work was appreciated by the Moghuls and collected and bound in superb albums (AKM351). Here, this page from an album made for Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–58) uses an elegant collage of different types of papers around the calligraphy, including two narrow bands with marbled paper (AKM254). The paper collage with Mir ‘Ali’s quatrains at its centre was set in an exceptional border of a natural landscape. The painter of the border, Dawlat Khan, has depicted a finely illustrated group of deer, antelopes, and nilgai (blue bull) in a lush landscape with a rich variety of tropical birds, all watched by a crouching cheetah in the bottom left of the border. The precision with which the animals are drawn suggests that the artist drew upon manuals that perhaps came into his possession through Western influences at the Moghul court.

Note: This online resource is reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis. We are committed to improving this information and will revise and update knowledge about this object as it becomes available.

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