Eton Pote 397 (Eton College Library, Eton College)

Note concerning author: In fact the scribe signs as Ahmad al-Husayni, 962 (1555) who might be transcribing calligraphic pieces by his master Mīr ʿAlī and/or the Qur'an. But why the reference to Mīr ʿAlī Tabrīzī on the second page? There is an Ahmad Ibrahimi al-Husayni, Qumi, i.e. Qāḍī Aḥmad who wrote Gulistān-i hunar and Khulaṣat al-tavārīkh but he was only 9 in 962/1555. Is he perhaps scribe of Chester Beatty Per. 216 (Yusuf u Zulayka, 957, Herat?) - see Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's Haft Awrang, p.373. See also Mir Sayyid Ahmad al-Husayni al-Mashhadi in Prefacing the Image, p.34 - who in 972 copied an album preface in the Amir Ghayb Beg album, in Herat (TS H.2161) - translated in Album Prefaces. DR says Mir Sayyid Ahmad (d.986) was a prolific calligrapher, a student of Mīr ʿAlī - "his specimens were avidly collected" - he was one of Qazi Ahmad's teachers. The year 1555 would be around the end of his employ with Shah Tahmasp.

illuminated specimens of calligraphy

Colophon details: Date: 962 / 1555 Scribe: Aḥmad al-Ḥusaynī احمد الحسينى .

Note concerning manuscript: Central panels: calligraphic panel containing two lines on well-burnishe dark ochre paper, framed by an illuminated border and enclosed in rulings of red, blue, green and gold. That is framed by a gold-speckled border and outside that another illuminated border (containing patterns that are repeated from the inner borders). Appears to have been remargined twice producing three layers: the middle layer containing the inner margin and rulings.

References