Acc. 2023/72 (Leigh Town Hall, Wigan Council Archives: Wigan & Leigh)

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Oriental Manuscripts

Six volumes of calligraphy collected by Colonel George William Hamilton (1807–1868).

Contents

Summary of Contents: These six volumes contain 107 calligraphy specimens written in Persian, Arabic, and Hindustani, collected by Colonel George William Hamilton (1807–1868) during his tenure in who served in India from 1823 to 1867. Ultimately appointed Commissioner of Delhi in 1862, he acquired nearly 1,200 oriental manuscripts. These calligraphy specimens encompass both works by famed masters and items presented to him as gifts by his subordinates and acquaintances. Several compositions feature his name and titles, or praise him on certain occasions. Hamilton returned to Britain with them in late 1867 and then passed away the following year.
After his death, Charlotte Logie Hamilton (1817–1893) inherited then sold 352 volumes to the British Museum, now mainly held in the British Library. Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford and 8th Earl of Balcarres (1812–1880), then purchased the remainder in 1868 for Bibliotheca Lindesiana at Haigh Hall, Wigan. In 1895, John Phillip Edmond (1850–1906), appointed librarian by Alexander's son and successor James Ludovic Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford and 9th Earl of Balcarres (1847–1913), personally selected and arranged the specimens and sent them to Henry Tennyson Folkard (1850-1916), Librarian of the Wigan Free Public Library. However, he evidently excluded fourteen largely double-sided items from the gift, which remained in the Bibliotheca Lindesiana, now Persian MS 998 in the John Rylands Library, Manchester. In his reply thanking Edmonds and Crawford for the gift, Folkard relates how he commissioned Fazakerley of Liverpool, then owned and operated by John Fazakerley (1843–1909), to mount, bevel mat, and bind them in six royal folio volumes, with hand-calligraphed title pages declaring the set as a gift from 'his Lordship'.
The scripts featured encompass two of the traditional Arabic Aqlām al-Sittah (six scripts), primarily non-serif naskh (copyist), and thuluth (one-third) which features conspicuous, angular, pointed serifs at the top of upright, vertical strokes, the bottom one-third of which gently slope, hence the name. Tawqī‘ (signature) script, a truncated form of thuluth and comparatively curvelinear seriffed riqā‘ also appear (Nº 6), together with another comparatively unicursal, curvelinear script which emerged from the latter, called ta‘līq (suspended) script, both generally used for writing epistolography (Nº 21).
However, the majority of compositions feature nasta‘līq script, a combination of naskh and ta‘līq, frequently obliquely written from the upper-right to lower-left corners, as formal qiṭ‘āt (specimens), and then signed and sometimes dated at bottom. Such formal compositions first emerged in the late 15th century Turco-Persian manuscript culture then rapidly spread throughout the Islamic world. Since it often appears in non-Arabic languages, Arabic speakers sometimes refer to this style as khaṭṭ al-Farisī (Persian script). Nevertheless, several Arabic compositions in that script do appear among the items in this collection. Other styles include shikastah (broken) script in several variants, a style that connects non-connecting letters with extra ligatures, ghubar (dust), a micrographic script (Nº 97), gulzār (rose-garden) an infilled, milleflor variation of nasta‘līq script (Nº 102, 103, and 105), as well as examples of infilled South Asian style ṭughrā (insignia, Nº 98–99) and mus̱annà (doubled, Nº 100–101) compositions. Lastly, three nākhūnī (fingernail) compositions appear in the final volume (Nº 104, 106, and 107), are not written with ink, but embossed into the paper with fingernails.
Title: Specimens of Oriental Penmanship
Title: Specimens of Oriental Penmanship Arranged by the Right Hon. The Earl of Crawford and Presented by His Lordship to the Wigan Free Public Library
Collector: Hamilton, George William, Colonel, 1807–1868
Former owner and Donor: Lindsay, James Ludovic, 26th Earl of Crawford and 9th Earl of Balcarres, 1847–1913
Compiler and Donor: Edmond, John Phillip, 1850–1906
Associated name: Folkard, Henry Tennyson, 1850–1916
Editor: Fazakerley, John, 1843–1909
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Textblock comprised of heavy-weight machine-made, calendered paper mat boards manufactured in Britain.
Extent: 6 volumes.
Foliation: Some specimens numbered adjacent to 'X' marks, in modern pencilled Arabic numerals by J. P. Edmond (1850–1906), followed in this record.

Collation

Undetermined, but likely individually oversewn singletons.

Condition

Handle folios with caution. Fully interleaved. In fair but stable condition, with extensive acid migration stains and grime.

Layout

Portrait format.

Hand(s)

Title pages written in a bold black and red gothic hand.

Binding

Mounted, bevel-matted, and bound in six uniform royal folio volumes by Fazakerley of Liverpool, then owned and operated by John Fazakerley (1843–1909), for Henry Tennyson Folkard (1850–1916), Librarian, Wigan Free Public Library.

Predominantly alizarin 'British'-patterned marbled endleaves, overprinted gilt and black veins added to the beginnings and ends, with all folios attached to custom-made compensation guards, then oversewn on six recessed cords, laced into pasteboards. All edges ploughed, with the heads gilt, and single-core decorative endbands in red, blue, and white threads over split cane cores at head and tail. Half bound in claret coloured, full naturally grained goatskin leather, hollow-backed, with six false bands, and pebble-grained maroon starch-filled bookcloth sides.

Spine panels paletted in thick blind and thin single fillets by the bands, with double fillets on the bands, and titled:
‘SPECIMENS
OF
ORIENTAL
PENMANSHIP’.
Boards tooled with single blind and gold fillets by the cloth. Signed by the firm ‘FAZAKERLEY BINDER LIVERPOOL’ in gold on the left board interiors, lower-right dentelles.

Seal(s):

Nº 24 bears a partly legible, square black seal impression intaglio-carved in three nasta‘līq script lines, single-ruled, impressed at bottom:
10 × 11 mm.

Accompanying Material

In Volume I, inside the front board, a loose note states:
‘Specimens of Oriental Penmanship
The First if Six Similar Volumes
‘presented to the’
Wigan Public Library
by the late Earl of Crawford.’

History

Origin:

Originally collected by Colonel George William Hamilton (1807-1868), who served in India from 1823 to 1867. Ultimately appointed Commissioner of Delhi in 1862, he acquired nearly 1,200 oriental manuscripts, and these calligraphy specimens. Hamilton returned to Britain with them in late 1867 and then passed away the following year.
After his death, his widow Charlotte Logie Hamilton (1817–1893) inherited then sold 352 volumes to the British Museum, now mainly held in the British Library today.

Provenance and Acquisition

Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880), purchased the remainder in 1868 for Bibliotheca Lindesiana at Haigh Hall, Wigan.

Inherited by James Ludovic Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford (1847–1913), who then hired librarian 1895, John Phillip Edmond (1850–1906), who then personally selected and arranged the specimens and sent them to Henry Tennyson Folkard (1850-1916), Librarian of the Wigan Free Public Library. However, he evidently excluded fourteen largely double-sided items from the gift, which remained in the Bibliotheca Lindesiana, now Persian MS 998 in the John Rylands Library, Manchester. In his reply thanking Edmonds and Crawford for the gift, Folkard relates how he commissioned Fazakerley of Liverpool, then owned and operated by John Fazakerley (1843–1909), to mount, bevel mat, and bind them in six royal folio volumes, with hand-calligraphed title pages declaring the set a gift from 'his Lordship'. the Wigan Free Public Library in 1895.

Transferred to the Archives: Wigan & Leigh in 2023.

Acc. 2023/72 Vol. I

Volume I contains eighteen calligraphy specimens, Nos. 1-18.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: 19 folios 6 flyleaves (ff. iii + 19 + iii) .
Dimensions (leaf): 525 × 358 mm.

Binding

539 × 405 × 72 mm.

Handle binding with caution. In good, stable condition, with slight abrasion to the exteriors and board edges and corners bumped.

1

Contents

Summary of Contents: This fragment of unidentified ornate Persian prose written in shikastah (broken) script in ten lines, unsigned, but dated 21 Shawwāl 1127 AH (20 October 1715 CE), praises good etiquette and table manners.
Folio 2a
Author: Anonymous
Editor: Anonymous
Title: Fragment of ornate Persian prose on etiquette
Language(s): Persian
Incipit: (transcription) للفخر الله بالعلم
Colophon: بتاریخ بیست و یکم ۲۱ شهر شوال سنه ۱۱۲۷ هجری
Colophon: 21 Shawwāl 1127 AH (20 October 1715 CE).
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on dark tan-coloured, externally lightly sized and polished tinted paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 120 × 151 mm.

Condition

In poor condition with extensive breaks and losses.

Layout

Landscape format, written in 1 column in 10 lines; ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in black shikastah script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in the Mughal Empire 21 Shawwāl 1127 AH (20 October 1715 CE).

2

Contents

Summary of Contents: This ornate Persian prose composition quotes a passage of the Ḥabīb al-Siyar (Beloved of the Times) by Khvānd Mīr (ca. 1475–1535) concerning early Islamic philosopher Fārābī (ca. 870–950) known as 'Alpharabius' in Latin, followed by another paraphrased excerpt from the Ā'īn-i Akbar (Administrations of Akbar) by Abū al-Faz̤l (1551–1602), written in South Asian-style shikastah (broken) script by Ḥusayn for Rājah Mahānrā bin Sīrlām in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli) on 16 Ẕi al-Qa‘dah, year 26 of the reign of Shāh ‘Ālam II (1199 AH/20 September 1785 CE).
Folio 3a
Author: Khvānd Mīr, Ghiyās̲ al-Dīn ibn Humām al-Dīn, ca. 1475–1535;
غیاث الدین ابن همام الدین میر خواند
Scribe: al-Marrī Ḥusayn المری حسین
Addressee: Rājah Mahānrā bin Sīrlām;
راجه مهانرا بن سیرلام
Title: Paraphrased passage from the Ḥabīb al-Siyar
Author: Abū al-Faz̤l ibn Mubārak, 1551-1602
Title: Paraphrased passage on calligraphy from the Ā'īn-i Akbarī
Title: حبیب السیر
Language(s): Persian
Incipit: (excerpt) الله اکبر. رد حبیب سیر مخبر است که فارابی از مشاهر حکما اسلام است نام پرور نصر محمد ترخان یافت معلم هی فاراب بزعم بعضی از ارباب الباب نام شهریست بلاساغون و افول(؟) بعضی ولایتست در دیار ترکستان و مهارت در فنون حکمت و کمالات اولیه(؟) بود که عقل عقلین کامل کیاست مافوق آن درجه تصور نمیتوان گردد. در بعضی از تواریخ حبیب گشته در اواخر لام حیات بولایات شام رفت و در مجلس سیف الدوله لحظه برای بالاستاد در مباحثه دانشمندان نخل کرد سیف الدوله فرمود که بنشین گفت «کجا نشستم؟» سبف الدوله فرمود که «هر کجا فایل جلوس توان» ابو نصر در پهلوی سیف الدوله بر مسند سلطنت نشست و عرق و غیرت و نخوت پادشاهانه در حرکت آمده برای که متخصص آنها بود غلامان خود که این ترک ادب کرد چون از مجلس بیرون رود بسیاست رساند ابو نصر گفت «ايها الامیر اصبر فان الامور بعواقبها» سیف الدوله متعجب نمود و گفت «تو چه دانستی که من چه گفتم؟» گفت که «ما بجمیع من ز آنها و افقم(؟)‌ بعد از آن بعلما آغاز مناظره نمود فایق آمده و هرچه علماء ازو نصر شنیدند در سلک تحریر در آورده در وقت حاجت حجت باشد بعد از آ مقدمات سیف الدوله او را در سلک مخوصوصا آورده ابو نصر را نگاهداشته او را داخل ارباب و اهل سازوآواز را طلبیده فرمود سرود لسان نمود ابو نصر اعتراضات بر آن جماعت فرموده سیف الدوله پرسید که بر این علم نرسما است وقوفی هست از میان خود چند قطعه از آلات غنا بر آورده بر یکدیگر فصل نموده نواخت چندانکه اهل مجلس بخنده در آمده بعد از آن همان ز آلات بهیأت دیگر اتصال نموده نواخت که همی بجواب در افتاده سیف الدوله را واهی صحبت دلبین او خوش انده فرموودهرچه خواهی از من بطلب ولیکن ماهی در ملک من افتادید شما گفت ابو نصر بشرطی که مرا تکلیف ملازمت نکنی بر آنگاه دلبین حزب هر بر روشن است ...
این غنچه افرین که آنرا خط یافته چون عالم قدیم بی شروین است نه آورده مراتب است و نه آورده مهتاب در هر زمانی طایفه نوشتند و تهی و خاص در نمونش این حروف سر خاصه این چون خط هندی و یونانی و سریانی و قبطی و معقلی و عبری و کشمیری و کوفی و حبشی و ریحان(؟) و روحانی و غیر آن و در بعضی کتبت بالخیر برای آدم نسبت کتبت قضا بود بادریس که خط معقلی ترتیب داده به وسیله نماد که بیشتر تفاوت خط کوفی یک دانگ دور است باقی سطح است و معقلی تمام سطح و کتابهای عمارت کهنه به این خط است ...
Colophon: در شاهجهانآباد تخویل راجه مهانرا بن سیرلام المری حسین مشق نمود بتاریخ بیست و یکم ۲۱ شهر شوال سنه ۲۶ شاه عالم.
Colophon: Drafted in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli) for Rājah Mahānrā bin Sīrlām by al-Marrī Ḥusayn on 26 year Shāh ‘Ālam [II] (16 Ẕi al-Qa‘dah AH/20 September 1785 CE).
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on externally sized and polished, finely sprayed red decorated paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 120 × 151 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Landscape format, written in 2 columns, the top with 21 oblique lines, the bottom nine horizontal; ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in shikastah script.

History

Origin: Completed by al-Marrī Ḥusayn in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); 21 Shawwāl 1127 AH (20 October 1715 CE).

3

Contents

Summary of Contents: This unsigned, densely written South Asian style shikastah (broken) script relates an anecdote concerning Imām Mūsá al-Kāẓim ibn Jaʻfar (ca. 745–799).
Folio 4a
Title: Persian prose anecdote regarding Imām Muḥammad Musà al-Kāẓim
Incipit: اورده‌اند که در زمانی که حضرت امام محمد موسی کاظم از دست امت را ⟨[؟]⟩ اختیار فرمود گزارش تعرف کوهستان(؟) اقبال ملاخظه فرمود که جمیعی از قوم نصاری سحایب(؟) گهروند خضرت پرسیدند که کجا میروید گویند بر بلای کوه را همی است
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on ivory paper decorated with black and red spatters applied in tiny clusters, possibly by the calligrapher.
Dimensions (leaf): 204 × 123 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition with slight moisture damage, staining, and smearing.

Layout

Portrait format, written in 1 column in 14 lines; ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in hasty black shikastah script.

4

Contents

Summary of Contents: This striking naskh script composition in a style after Persian master Aḥmad Nayrīzī, paraphrases a popular quote attributed to medieval poet and satirist ‘Ubayd Zakānī (d. ca. 1370), regarding five keys to happiness in life, once reputedly engraved on a plaque by order of the pre-Islamic ruler Ānūshīrvān Khusraw (Khosrow I, King of Persia, ca. 484–579). Calligrapher Muḥammad Walī Khān copied it in white lead on medium indigo blue paper in 1195 AH (1781 CE). In the tenth line down from the top to the left, he added several distinctive flourishes adding his own decorative .
Folio 5a
Title: Saying attributed to ‘Ubayd Zākānī
Author: ‘Ubayd Zakānī (d. ca. 1370);
عبید زاکانی
Scribe: Muḥammad Walī Khān;
محمد ولی خان
Colophon: سنه ۱۱۹۵ محمد ولی خانتمت
Colophon: Completed by ‘Muḥammad Walī Khān 1195 AH (1781 CE)’.

While several men of this name appear in historical sources, none comport with this date, hence he remains unidentified.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Indigo blue tinted paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 293 × 173 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition with upper damaged areas overpainted.

Layout

Portrait format, written in 1 column, with additional lines written vertically at right and bottom with the colophon at left, ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized white naskh script with unique decorative flourishes in the tenth line.

History

Origin: Completed by Muḥammad Walī Khān, in 1195 AH (1781 CE)

5

Contents

Summary of Contents: Arabic ḥadīth (Prophetic tradition) concerning spiritual rewards earned for good handwriting, written in bold thuluth (one-third) script at top, which continues in smaller naskh in the centre, also bears Persian poetry obliquely written in shikastah (broken) on the right and left at bottom.
Folio 6a
Title:
Scribe: Ḥaydar Qulī;
حیدر قلی
Colophon: حرره المذنب الفقير المحتاج الى الله العلي خيدر قلى غفر له و لوالدينه
Colophon: Undated but signed by Ḥaydar Qulī.
Language(s): Arabic and Persian

Probably not the same as Safavid scribe named Muḥammad ‘Ali bin Ḥaydar Qulī, who completed Bodleian Library MS. Elliott 63 in Shaʻbān 985 AH (October-November 1577 CE).

Physical Description

Support: Finely silver-flecked paper, now tarnished. Mounted on a narrow dark indigo blue paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 158 × 238 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition with water damage along the bottom edge, and modest smudging.

Layout

Landscape format, written in 1 column at top, with 3 underneath, the top and bottom–middle horiztonal, with left and right bottom oblique; ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium black thuluth and minuscule shikastah scripts.

History

Origin: Completed by Ḥaydar Qulī, location unidentified, but possibly Mughal Empire undated, but possibly 18th century CE.

6

Contents

Summary of Contents: This specimen features a combination of seven script styles.
  1. An Arabic ḥadīth (Prophetic tradition) appears across the top, written in bold black tawqī‘ (signature), a truncated form of seriffed thuluth (one-third) script, with five columns underneath.
  2. The far-right column contains eight lines of original ornate Persian prose by the calligrapher, written in oblique minuscule nasta‘līq script with occasional shikastah (broken) ligatures.
  3. The middle-right column contains eight lines of original ornate Persian prose by the calligrapher, written in oblique minuscule shafī‘ā a variant of shikastah (broken).
  4. A comparatively wide central column features five horizontal of medium-sized thuluth script at top contains aphorisms of ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib
  5. A variant Persian dūbayt (couplet) excerpted from a ghazal (lyric) poem by Awḥādī Marāghāh'ī (1274–1338 in medium-sized nasta‘līq appears at centre-bottom.
  6. The middle-left colophon written in comparatively curvelinear riqā‘ (patched) script contains the colophon.
  7. The far-left column contains original Persian ornate prose by the calligrapher, written in minuscule shafī‘ā a variant of shikastah (broken) script.
The calligrapher studied thuluth and naskh under royal Mughal calligrapher Muḥammad ‘Ārif (fl. ca. 1669–1760s, a native of Herat, who emigrated to India where he ultimately instructed the children of the Mughal Emperor ‘Alāmgīr I (b. 1618 r. 1658–1707), who awarded him the title of ‘Yāqūt Raqam’ (Ruby-Writing), which implies his writing resembles that of celebrated medieval Baghdad master Yāqūt al-Mustaʻṣimī (d. ca. 1299). He, in turn, studied under ‘Abd al-Bāqī Ḥaddād (fl. 17th c.), a native of Iran who came to India during the reign of Shāhjahān I (b. 1592–1666 r. 1628–58). Therefore, the skill displayed by the calligrapher reflects both his training and prestigious royal pedigree, rooted in traditions from Iran.
Folio 7a
Title: Arabic ḥadīth with Arabic aphorisms and Persian poetry
Author: Marāghah-ʼi, Rukn al-Dīn Awḥadī, ca. 1271–1278;
اوحدى، ركن الدين
Author: ʻAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib,‏ Caliph,‏ ca. 600-661;
علي ابن ابي طالب
Author, Scribe and Autographer: Muḥammad ‘Askarī;
محمد عسكرى
Language(s): Arabic and Persian

References

Iḥtirām al-Dīn Shāghil Aḥmad Us̱mānī, Saḥīfah-yi Khushnivīsān, 2nd. Ed. (New Delhi: Taraqqī-yi Urdū Biyūro, 1987), p. 186, Nº 416.
Khan Sahib Maulvi Zafar, Specimens of Calligraphy in the Delhi Museum of Archaeology (Calcutta: Gov. of India, 1926), p. 6, Nº 9.

Physical Description

Support: Highly burnished cream-toned paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 268 × 288 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition with extensive insect damage at left and smearing at bottom.

Layout

Landscape format, written in 1 column at top, with 5 underneath, the top and bottom–middle horizontal, with the others oblique; ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium black thuluth and minuscule shikastah scripts by Muḥammad ‘Askarī.

Decoration

Finely illuminated.

History

Origin: Completed by Muḥammad ‘Askarī probably in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); 21 Shawwāl 1127 AH (20 October 1715 CE) undated, but probably mid-19th century (ca. 1850–1867) CE.

7

Contents

Summary of Contents: Excerpt of a congratulatory panegyric Persian ode composed by Mīr ‘Alī Shīr Navā’ī (1441–1501) here copied in South Asian-style thuluth (one-third) script by Muḥammad Faz̤l Ḥasan
Folio 8a
Title: Excerpt from a panegyric ode
Author: Mīr ‘Alī Shīr Navā’ī, 1441–1501
میر علی شیر نوایی
Scribe: Muḥammad Faz̤l Ḥasan;
محمد فضل حسن
Incipit: (transcription) هو الاکبر | جهان بكام و فلك بنده و ملك داعي * امید تازه و دولت قرین و بخت جوان | فتوح سوى يمين و سعود سوي يسار * شهر پیش رکاب و زمانه زیر عذان
Colophon: مشقه محمد فضل حسن
Colophon: Muḥammad Faz̤l Ḥasan drafted it.
Language(s): Persian

Possibly the same scribe as noted by Us̱mānī, p. 188 Nº 426.

Iḥtirām al-Dīn Shāghil Aḥmad Us̱mānī, Saḥīfah-yi Khushnivīsān, 2nd. Ed. (New Delhi: Taraqqī-yi Urdū Biyūro, 1987), p. 188 Nº 426..

Physical Description

Support: Highly burnished pistachio-tinted paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 268 × 188 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition with extensive insect damage at left and smearing at bottom.

Layout

Portrait format, written in 1 column with the colophon in 6 lines two final oblique lines at bottom; ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in bold South Asian-style black thuluth.

History

Origin: Completed by Muḥammad Faz̤l Ḥasan probably in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); undated, but probably mid-19th century (ca. 1850–1867) CE.

8

Contents

Summary of Contents: This clever calligraphic rendering by an unidentified artist named ‘Abd al-Nabī ibn Ayyūb, depicts the epitaph of the tomb of poet Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī (ca. 1253-1325) with a poem by Shihāb al-Dīn bin Niẓām al-Dīn Haravī (d. ca. 1508–1509) concluding with a chronogram that equals 725 AH (1325 CE), the year that Amīr Khusraw passed away. Another panegyric poem composed by the tomb's architect, Khwajah Ṭāhir ‘Imād al-Dīn Ḥasan bin Sulṭān ‘Alī Sabzavarī, celebrates completion of the building in 1014 AH (1606 CE) appears in the surrounding margins, with the signature of the scribe at top-left.
Folio 9a
Title: Calligraphic Rendering of Amīr Khusraw Dihlavi's Epitaph
Author: Haravī, Shihāb al-Dīn bin Niẓām al-Dīn , d. 1508–1509
شهاب الدین بن نظام الدین هروی
Author: Khwajah Ṭāhir ‘Imād al-Dīn Ḥasan bin Sulṭān ‘Alī Sabzavarī
طاهر محمد سبزواری
Scribe: ‘Abd al-Nabī ibn Ayyūb;
عبد النبی ایوب
Language(s): Persian

Haravī's poem also appears in the conclusion of Rylands Persian MS 109, appended to a copy of the Dīvān of Amīr Khusraw's poems.

Physical Description

Support: Gently polished ivoury coloured wove paper, hand-tinted with watercolours.
Dimensions (leaf): 324 × 250 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

format, written in 1 column within the epitaph and with surrounding lines in the margins.

Hand(s)

Written in fine nasta‘līq script by ‘Abd al-Nabī ibn Ayyūb.

Decoration

This composition employs watercolour washes to lend greater realism.

History

Origin: Completed by ‘Abd al-Nabī ibn Ayyūb in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); undated, but probably mid-19th century (ca. 1850–1867) CE.

9

Contents

Summary of Contents: Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī (1838–1885) copied this Persian prose didactic aphorism concerning child-rearing. A son of Jīvanalāla Munshī Rā'ī Bahādur (1806–1884), who served as secretary to the last Mughal ruler and as a British informant who reported on events as they unfolded in the Red Fort in Delhi during the rebellion of 1857, he apparently later served in the Treasury under Hamilton.
Folio 10a
Title: Persian didactic prose
Scribe: Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī, 1838–1885;
راجا لال
Incipit: (basmala) پنج خصلت که در كودكان اند اگر در بزرگان بودی اولياء الله بودی...
Colophon: کتبه المذنب راجا لال عفی عنه
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Partly polished pink laid paper, with 16 laid line per 20 mm. Unruled.
Dimensions (leaf): 178 × 146 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Portrait format, written in 1 column in six lines.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script by Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī.

Decoration

Patches of irregularly cut squared of gold leaf embellish the corners, under the basmala, and between the lines, the last outlined in black, reverse-scalloped strokes designed to recall cloud bands.

History

Origin: Completed by Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī, probably in Dehli; undated, but probably mid-19th century (ca. 1850–1867) CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

10

Contents

Summary of Contents: An excerpt from the Ḥadīqat al-Aqālīm (Enclosed Garden of the Climes) by Murtaz̤ā Ilahyār Ḥusayn Bilgrāmī (ca. 1720–1790) concerns five good works that foster courtesy and respect, copied by Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī (1838–1885), son of Jīvanalāla Munshī Rā'ī Bahādur (1806–1884).
Folio 11a
Title: Excerpt from the Ḥadīqat al-Aqālīm (Enclosed Garden of the Climes)
Author: Bilgrāmī, Murtaz̤ā Ilahyār Ḥusayn, ca. 1720–1790;
مرتضى حسين الآهیار بلگرامی
Scribe: Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī, 1838–1885;
راجا لال
Incipit: (basmala) این چند چیز‌ها بهترین اعمال است روندادن به مردم ب ...
Colophon: ذره بیمقدار راجا لال پسر منشی ٔجیون لعل
Colophon: The insignificant speck, Rājā Lāl son of Munshī Jiwān La‘l.
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Very fine, thin handmade paper, ~32 laid lines per 20 mm, Unruled.
Dimensions (leaf): 198 × 127 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Portrait format, written in 1 column with 9 lines.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script by Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī.

Decoration

Each line is ruled horizontally in gold outlined in thin black, while foliate decoration in blue appears by the colophon at bottom.

History

Origin: Completed by Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī probably in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); undated, but probably mid-19th century (ca. 1850–1867) CE.

11

Contents

Summary of Contents: Hindustani couplet in praise of Persian, Turkish, and Sindhi languages ascribed to Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī (ca. 1253–1325) concerns five good works that foster courtesy and respect, copied by Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī (1838–1885), son of Jīvanalāla Munshī Rā'ī Bahādur (1806–1884).
Folio 12a
Title: Excerpt from the Ḥadīqat al-Aqālīm (Enclosed Garden of the Climes);
حديقة الاقاليم
Author: Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī, ca. 1253–1325;
امیر خسرو دهلوی
Scribe: Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī, 1838–1885;
راجا لال
Incipit: (beginning) الله اکبر عز اسمه | پهیلی آینه من تصانیف حضرت امیر خسرو رخمت الله علیه: «فارسی اوسکی آی نانہہ۔۔۔».
Colophon: حرره فدوی راجا لال سر‌رشته دار مال ضلعدہلی لعل
Colophon: The servant Rājā Lāl, expert of the Treasury
Language(s): Persian

This composition indicates he worked in the Delhi Treasury of the nascent British Raj government, hence subordinate to Hamilton.

Physical Description

Support: Very fine, thin, bright viridian green cross-grained laid paper, Cross-grain laid paper, ~24 laid lines per 20 mm and 23 mm between chain lines..
Dimensions (leaf): 198 × 127 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Portrait format, written in 1 column with 7 lines.

Hand(s)

Written in small and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script by Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī.

History

Origin: Completed by Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī probably in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); undated, but probably mid-19th century (ca. 1850–1867) CE.

12

Contents

Summary of Contents: The former Mughal Chief Justice Muḥammad Ṣadr al-Dīn Khān Āzurdah (1789–1868) composed this ornate Arabic prose panegyric composition in honour of Colonel George William Hamilton (1807–1868) written on paper embellished with gold squares and silver flecks, on 16 Nov. 1862.
Folio 13a
Title: Arabic panegyric prose praising Col. George William Hamilton
Author: Muḥammad Ṣadr al-Dīn Khān Āzurdah, 1789–1868;
محمد صدر الدین آزرده
Subject, Honoree, Dedicatee, Addressee and Former owner: George William Hamilton, Colonel, 1807–1868
Language(s): Arabic

This composition probably pertains to the period when the author successfully appealed for the restoration of his properties seized by the government after 1857, with the notable exception of his library, which now constitutes a primary portion of the Delhi Collection in the British Library, for which see Shapouran.

Physical Description

Support: Very fine, thin, bright viridian green cross-grained laid paper, Cross-grain laid paper, ~24 laid lines per 20 mm and 23 mm between chain lines..
Dimensions (leaf): 451 × 207 mm.

Condition

In overall good condition, albeit with areas where adhesive struck through the paper fibres when mounted.

Layout

Portrait format, written in 1 column with 12 lines.

Hand(s)

Written in small and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script by Muḥammad Ṣadr al-Dīn Khān Āzurdah.

Decoration

Written on domestically manufactured sized and polished letter-paper embellished with four rows of four positioned cut gold leaf diamonds and flecks of silver.

History

Origin: Completed by Muḥammad Ṣadr al-Dīn Khān Āzurdah probably in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); 16 Nov. 1862 CE.

13

Contents

Summary of Contents: Unsigned Persian panegyric dūbayt (couplet), possibly by Azurdah (Nº 12), Baldeo Singh (Nº 15 and 17), or Kishan Prashad (Nº 16), given the hand and choice of paper.
Folio 14a
Title: Dūbayt
دوبیت Persian couplet
Author: Anonymous
Incipit: (transcription) اقبال تو پاینده و تو جوان باد * حکمت چو قضا بر همه احکام روا باد
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Very evenly formed straight-grained domestically manufactured sized and highly polished letter-paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 375 × 173 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Portrait format, written in 1 column with 2 lines.

Hand(s)

Written in small black nasta‘līq script.

Decoration

Written on domestically manufactured sized and polished letter-paper embellished with three rows of four equidistantally positioned cut gold leaf diamonds with irregular flecks of silver leaf between.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); undated, but probably mid-19th century (ca. 1850–1867) CE.

14

Contents

Summary of Contents: Unsigned Persian panegyric dūbayt (couplet) of Muḥammad ʻAlī Ḥazīn Lāhījī (ca. 1692–1766), possibly copied by Azurdah (Nº 12), Baldeo Singh (Nº 15 and 17), or Kishan Prashad (Nº 16), given the hand and choice of paper.
Folio 15a
Title: Dūbayt
دوبیت Persian couplet
Author: Ḥazīn Lāhījī, Muḥammad ʻAlī, ca. 1692–1766;
محمد علی حزین لاهیجی
Incipit: (transcription) عمرت دراز باد که تا دور مشتری * ما از تو بر خوریم تو از عمر بر خوریم
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Very evenly formed straight-grained domestically manufactured sized and highly polished letter-paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 311 × 182 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Portrait format, written in 1 column with 2 lines.

Hand(s)

Written in small black nasta‘līq script.

Decoration

Written on domestically manufactured sized and polished letter-paper embellished with three rows of four equidistantally positioned cut gold leaf diamonds with irregular flecks of gold leaf between.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); undated, but probably mid-19th century (ca. 1850–1867) CE.

15

Contents

Summary of Contents: An original Persian panegyric quintain (mukhammis) praising the first day of Spring and the Persian New Year (Nawrūz), signed by Baldeo Singh, son of Delhi merchant Zurawar Singh, written in three columns, with colophon underneath.
Folio 16a
Title: Mukhammis;
مخمس ;
Quintain
Author and Scribe: Baldeo Singh;
Baldīyū Singh;
بلدیو سنگہ
Language(s): Persian
Incipit: (transcription) نوروز که روز دلفروز است * خوشتر ز شب وصال آمد
Colophon: رقمه بلدیو سنگہ خلف زورآور سنگ ساهوی دهلی
Language(s): Persian with Arabic colophon

The scribe explicitly names his father in the colophon: Baldīyū Singh khalaf-i Lalah Zūrāvar Singh Sāhū-yi Dihlī. Zurawar Singh and his son Baldeo Singh, who copied this poem, were both merchants and bankers operating in Dharampura, Chandni Chowk, Delhi, imprisoned 18 May–19 August 1857 in the Red Fort by Bahādur Shāh for dealing with the British during the uprising.

Mahmood Farooqui, Beseiged: Voices from Delhi, 1857 (New Delhi: Penguin, 2010), 149.

Physical Description

Support: Very evenly formed straight-grained domestically manufactured sized and highly polished letter-paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 240 × 168 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 3 columns at top, two oblique at left and right contain four hemistichs each, with another couplet narrowly written vertically in the middle between, and the colophon underneath.

Hand(s)

Written in small black nasta‘līq script by Baldīyū Singh.

Decoration

Written on domestically manufactured sized and polished letter-paper embellished with three rows of four equidistantally positioned cut gold leaf diamonds with irregular flecks of silver leaf between.

History

Origin: Completed by Baldeo Singh, probably in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); undated, but probably mid-19th century (ca. 1850–1867) CE.

16

Contents

Summary of Contents: Panegyric Persian rubā‘ī (quatrain) by Khalīfah Shāh Muḥammad Kanawjī (fl. 17th century) excerpted from his Jāmiʻ al-Qawānīn copied by Kishan Prashad.
Folio 17a
Title: Jāmiʻ al-Qawānīn
Title: جامع القوانين
Title: Inshā-yi Khalīfah
Title: انشای خلیفه
Author: Kanawjī, Khalīfah Shāh Muḥammad, fl. 17th century;
قنوجی، خلیفه شاه محمد
Editor: Kishan Prashād;
کشن پرشاد
Incipit: (transcription) ای آمدنت باعث آبادی ما * ذکر تو بود زمزمنه شادی ما | ما را چه بود که در نثارت سازیم؟ * قربان سر تو باد آزادی ما
Colophon: فدوی کشن پرشاد زهی عز و شرف گر قبول افتاد
Language(s): Persian

While Us̱mānī p. 170 Nº 329, reports a calligrapher of the same name, Rajah Kishan Prashad (1864–1940), it cannot be him but another man of the same name.

Physical Description

Support: Very evenly formed straight-grained domestically manufactured sized and highly polished letter-paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 172 × 308 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 column in four oblique lines, with the colophon underneath.

Hand(s)

Written in small black nasta‘līq script by Kishan Prashād.

Decoration

Written on domestically manufactured sized and polished letter-paper embellished with three rows of four equidistantally positioned cut gold leaf diamonds with irregular flecks of silver leaf between.

History

Origin: Completed by Kishan Prashād, probably in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); undated, but probably mid-19th century (ca. 1850–1867) CE.

17

Contents

Summary of Contents: Baldeo Singh, son of Delhi merchant Zurawar Singh composed this original Persian panegyric ode (qaṣīdah) which while not explicitly naming him, the sixth and seventh couplets describe an appointment in Delhi as regent, hence it probably celebrates the appointment of Colonel George William Hamilton (1807–1868) as Commissioner of Delhi in 1862.
Folio 18a
Title: Persian Qaṣīdah Praising George William Hamilton
Author and Scribe: Baldeo Singh;
Baldīyū Singh;
بلدیو سنگہ
Subject, Honoree, Dedicatee, Addressee and Former owner: Hamilton, George William, Colonel, 1807–1868
Language(s): Persian
Incipit: (beginning) سپیده دم که بخند و گل از هبوب نسیم ...
Colophon: رقمه بلدیو سنگہ خلف زورآور سنگ ساهوی دهلی

The scribe explicitly names his father in the colophon: Baldīyū Singh khalaf-i Lalah Zūrāvar Singh Sāhū-yi Dihlī.

Physical Description

Support: Very evenly formed straight-grained domestically manufactured sized and highly polished letter-paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 480 × 194 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 4 horiztonal columns, alternating with wide oblique lines with 18 hemistichs each, narrow horizontal lines, and colophon underneath.

Hand(s)

Written in small black nasta‘līq script by Baldīyū Singh.

Decoration

Embellished with four rows of four equidistantally positioned cut gold leaf diamonds with irregular flecks of silver leaf between.

History

Origin: Completed by Baldeo Singh, in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); undated, but probably 1862 CE.

18

Contents

Summary of Contents: This anonymous Persian pangeyric ghazal (lyric) poem celebrates the appointment of Colonel George William Hamilton (1807–1868) as Commissioner of Delhi in 1862.
Folio 19a
Title: Ghazal Praising George William Hamilton
Author: Anonymous
Subject, Honoree, Dedicatee, Addressee and Former owner: George William Hamilton, Colonel, 1807–1868
Incipit: (transcription) اقبال تو پاینده و تو جوان باد * حکمت چو قضا بر همه احکام روا باد
Subject, Honoree, Dedicatee, Addressee and Former owner: Hamilton, George William, Colonel, 1807–1868
Incipit: (transcription) زهی جناب هملتین کمشنر ذی شان * که گرگ و میش ز عدلش شد است با هم رام
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on European-made mottled blue, flocked laid paper with ~18 laid lines per 20 mm and 25 mm between chain lines.
Dimensions (leaf): 189 × 315 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 2 oblique columns with columns, alternating with wide oblique lines with 18 columns with 16 hemistichs each. Unruled.

Hand(s)

Written in medium nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); undated, but probably 1862 CE.

Acc. 2023/72 Vol. II

Volume II contains eighteen calligraphy specimens, Nos. 19-36.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: 19 folios 6 flyleaves (ff. iii + 19 + iii) .
Dimensions (leaf): 524 × 360 mm.

Binding

539 × 408 × 73 mm.

Handle binding with condition. In fair but stable condition, with extensive staining, abrasion, and salts on the exterior, probably due to prolonged exposure to moisture.

19

Contents

Summary of Contents: Panegyric ode in 25 couplets praising Hamilton by Ismā‘īl, an unidentified poet, who mentions himself in the final couplet
Folio 2a
Title: Persian panegyric ode praising Hamilton
Author and Scribe: Ismā‘īl;
اسماعیل
Subject, Honoree, Dedicatee, Addressee and Former owner: George William Hamilton, Colonel, 1807–1868
Colophon: 'Bandah-'i Ismā‘īl' in the final couplet

Unidentified poet.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on British-made laid bearing a Britannia with ~20 laid lines per cm and 27 mm between chain lines, and a Britannia watermark 117 × 58 mm.
Dimensions (leaf): 303 × 204 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Twenty-five couplets mounted in inverted portrait format, written in 4 alternating vertically and obliquely written columns in variant lines.

Hand(s)

Written in medium nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but probably circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

20

Contents

Summary of Contents: A Persian ghazal (lyric) poem in seven couplets, signed by Baldeo Singh
Folio 3a
Title: Persian ghazal
Author: Unidentified
Scribe: Baldeo Singh;
Baldīyū Singh;
بلدیو سنگہ
Incipit: خال بر دنباله آن چشم هند جا گرفت * جان قین خسته بر شاخ آهو جا گفرت 
Colophon: Baldīyū Singh

See Nº 15 above.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on likely British-made, pink tinted wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 180 × 295 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Seven couplets mounted in portrait format, written in 2 obliquely columns with six hemistichs each, with the final couplet written horizontally underneath, and opening and colophon written in slightly smaller script at top and bottom.

Hand(s)

Written in both medium and minuscule black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but probably circa 1862–1867 CE.

21

Contents

Summary of Contents: This unsigned, nearly square mashq (practice) Persian ornate prose composition, obliquely written in bold ta‘līq (suspended) script, quotes an excerpt from a letter from the Inshā'-i Murvarīd (Ornate Prose Epistolography of Murvarīd) composed by famed master of that script, late-Timurid-era scribe ‘Abd Allāh Murvarīd 'Bayānī of Herat
Folio 4a
Author: Kirmānī Bayānī, Shihāb al-Dīn ʻAbd Allāh Murvārīd, ca. 1460–1516
Title: Excerpt from the Inshā-yi Murvārīd
Title: انشاى مرواريد
Incipit: (excerpt) این دم که بر تقصیرات خود آگاه گردیده چه فایده که فلک آنها را در نوردیده ، نه از آه مرا مهر نه از مه مبی نداند کشیدن فایده و نه از اشک حسر آب فشاندن نتیجه نتیجه تا تا توا توانستم ندانستم چه سود چون بدانستم توانیم نبود ایشان را که حضرت واهب العطیات این نواب و بعمد و بعمدت کرامت نمود التماس آن است که بعجره وریز دستان ارزقی ب شفقت و مرحمت سلوک فرمود.
Colophon: مشق مشق فقیر حقیر
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Heavily sized and polished paper, possibly produced in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 244 × 242 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition, with extensive creases, stains, smudges, and historical repairs.

Layout

Portrait format, written in 1 oblique column with 8 lines; ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in large, bold ta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed in the Indian subcontinent; undated, but possibly 17th to 18th centuries CE.

22

Contents

Summary of Contents: An unidentified calligrapher repeatedly copied oblique lines and nasta‘līq script letter forms in opposing directions in this unsigned practice specimen known as sīyāh mashq (blackened exercise) due to covering the sheet with ink.
Folio 5a
Author: Anonymous
Title: Sīyāh Mashq
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Externally sized and polished paper, possibly produced in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 354 × 234 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in opposing directions with variant lines. Possibly ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed in the Indian subcontinent; undated, but possibly 18th century CE.

23

Contents

Summary of Contents: An unidentified scribe copied this dense, bold ta‘līq (suspended) script ornate Persian prose composition.
Folio 6a
Author: Anonymous
Title: Ornate Persian prose mashq
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on paper probably manufactured in the Indian subcontinent, further embellished with nine large squares of cut gold leaf, flecked silver leaf, and further speckled with black ink
Dimensions (leaf): 200 × 121 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column with 16 lines; ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized, black ta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed in the Indian subcontinent; undated, but possibly 18th to early 19 century CE.

24

Contents

Summary of Contents: Ornate Persian prose missive signed by Murīd Khān Ṭabāṭabā' (fl. ca. 1735–1785). Originally named Muḥammad Ṣādiq, this prominent and prolific calligrapher of Iranian origin resided in Patna in the mid-18th century during the reign of Muḥammad Shāh. Many examples by him survive in albums of Swiss mercenary Antoine Polier, who knew him personally.
Folio 7a
Title: Ornate Persian prose missive
Author and Scribe: Muḥammad Ṣādiq Murīd Khān Ṭabāṭabā', fl. ca. 1735–1785;
محمد صادق مريد خان طباطباء
Colophon: ‘Murīd Khān Ṭabāṭabā' wrote it.’
Language(s): Persian

References

Specimen by this calligrapher in New Delhi, National Museum, Nº 70.58.
Will Kwiatkowski, 'Expanding the Canon: Mir Muhammad Husayn ʿAta Khan and the Polier Albums'. In Eighteenth-Century Indian Muraqqaʿs (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2024), pp. 300–304,
Ghulam Muhammad Haft Qalami Dihlavi, The Tadhkira-i Khushnavīsān of Mawlānā G̲h̲ulām Muḥammad Dihlavī, ed. M. Hidayet Husain, Bibliotheca Indica, Nº 1233 (Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1910), p. 107.
Khan Sahib Maulvi Zafar, Specimens of Calligraphy in the Delhi Museum of Archaeology (Calcutta: Gov. of India, 1926), p. 17, Nº 100.

Physical Description

Support: Written on four bright pink within brown marbled droplet motifs, probably manufactured at ‘Aẓīmābād (Patna). Mounted on two types of paper: an interior margin of ivory paper embellished with gold lines, and black paper flecked with gold.
Dimensions (written): 155 × 63 mm.

Dimensions (other interior margin): 185 × 80 mm.

Dimensions (leaf): 298 × 189 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition, with extensive smudging.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique columns with 11 lines. Probably ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in small shikastah script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in ‘Aẓīmābād (Patna); enigmatically dated ‘regnal year’ five which could pertain to severl rulers during his floruit, circa 1735–1785 CE.

25

Contents

Summary of Contents: Mīr Imām ‘Alī, who, together with the last Mughal ruler Bahādur Shāh II (1775–1862, r. 1837–1857), studied calligraphy under his father, Mīr Imām al-Dīn, copied this excerpt from a Persian panegyric ghazal (lyric) poem by Ḥāfiẓ (ca. 1315–1390), likely during Hamilton's Delhi tenure.
Folio 8a
Author: Ḥāfiẓ, ca. 1315–1390;
حافظ
Title: Excerpt from a ghazal
Scribe: Imām ‘Alī, Mīr;
میر امام علی
Incipit: (transcription) ای قبای پادشاهی راست بر بالای تو * زینتِ تاج و نگین از گوهرِ والای تو | آفتاب فتح را هر دم طلوعی می‌دهد * از کلاهِ خسروی رخسارِ مه‌سیمایِ تو
Colophon: مشقه میر امام علي
Colophon: Mīr Imām ‘Alī drafted it
Language(s): Persian

References

Ghulam Muhammad Haft Qalami Dihlavi, The Tadhkira-i Khushnavīsān of Mawlānā G̲h̲ulām Muḥammad Dihlavī, ed. M. Hidayet Husain, Bibliotheca Indica, Nº 1233 (Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1910), p. 129; Khan Sahib Maulvi Zafar, Specimens of Calligraphy in the Delhi Museum of Archaeology (Calcutta: Gov. of India, 1926), p. 7, no. 13.

Physical Description

Support: Written on sized and polished tan-coloured paper probably manufactured in the Indian subcontinent
Dimensions (leaf): 238 × 158 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition with minor discolouration, creases, and smudges.

Layout

Portrait format, written in 1 oblique columns with 6 lines; ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in large and medium-sized South Asian-style black thuluth script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but probably circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure.

26

Contents

Summary of Contents: An undated Arabic supplicatory prayer (du‘ā) written in large, bold (jalī) nasta‘līq script signed by Abū al-Ma‘ālī Ḥusaynī.
Folio 9a
Author: Unidentified
Editor: Ḥusaynī, Abū al-Ma‘ālī;
حسينى، ابو المعالى
Incipit: هو الله، أستغفر الله من جميع ما أكرهه قولاً وفعلاً
Colophon: حقير ابو المعالي ستر عيوبه
Colophon: The poor Abū al-Ma‘ālī, veil his faults.
Language(s): Arabic

References

Another specimen by the same calligrapher in the Library of Congress AMED Minassian calligraphy Nº 1-04-713.19.37
Mahdī Bayānī, Aḥvāl va As̱ār-i Khvushnivīsān 1, 2nd ed. (Tehran: ‘Ilmī, 1378 SH [2000]), p. 35, Nº 161; idem, vol. 2, p. 1248, Nº 27.

Physical Description

Support: Written on apricot-tinted paper probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent, mounted on pale sap green-tinted paper.
Dimensions (written): 225 × 132 mm.
Dimensions (mount): 269 × 176 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in one oblique column with 7 lines, with the final word written vertically on the left; ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in the Indian subcontinent; , undated, but probably 18th century CE.

27

Contents

Summary of Contents: Unsigned illuminated Persian rūbā‘ī (quatrain) written in nasta‘līq script.
Folio 10a
Author: Anonymous
Title: Rūbā‘ī
Title: رباعی
Incipit: (transcription) زنده کنی عطای تو * ور بُکُشی فدای تو | دِل شده مبتلای تو * هرچه کنی رضای تو
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on straw-coloured paper probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 338 × 227 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Inverted portrait format, written in 1 oblique column with 5 lines and empty space for signature. Probably ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium nasta‘līq script.

Decoration

Ground of solid painted gold embellished with floral scrollwork.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Indian subcontinent, undated, but possibly early–mid 19th century CE.

28

Contents

Summary of Contents: Persian rūbā‘ī (quatrain) signed by Mu‘jiz Raqam Khān Qandahārī dated 1275 (1858–1859 CE).
Folio 11a
Author: Anonymous
Title: Rūbā‘ī
Title: رباعی
Scribe: Qandahārī, Mu‘jiz Raqam Khān ;
معجز رقم خان قندهاری
Incipit: (excerpt) مهر فلک سعادت و اقبالی* با قدر تو این مرتبه نبود عالی | جاويد بملک جاه باشی والی * بزمت ز پری ز حال مبادا خالی
Colophon: مشقه معجز رقم خان قندهاری، غفر الله ذنوبه، سنه ۱۲۷۵ بهجرة النبوية
Colophon: Mu‘jiz Raqam Khān Qandahārī drafted it, God fخrgive his sins, year 1275 (1858–1859 CE) of the Hijrah.

Undocumented. Not the same as contemporaries Mu‘jiz Raqam Khān 'Munis' of Jaipur, or I‘jāz Raqam from Bhopal.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Probably written on paper handmade in the Indian subcontinent, embellished with sprayed gold ink.
Dimensions (leaf): 333 × 204 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Written primarily in 1 oblique column with 6 lines, and two more written vertically at right and left. Probably ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium and minuscule nasta‘līq script.

Decoration

Outlined with cloudbands infilled with painted gold.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Mu‘jiz Raqam Khān Qandahārī, possibly in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); 1275 (1858–1859 CE) AH.

29

Contents

Summary of Contents: Persian rūbā‘ī (quatrain) signed by Mu‘jiz Raqam Khān Qandahārī dated 1275 (1858–1859 CE).
Folio 12a
Author: Anonymous
Title: Rubā‘ī
Scribe: Qandahārī, Mu‘jiz Raqam Khān ;
معجز رقم خان قندهاری
Incipit: (excerpt) الهی ز اسراف نفس ذعل * تهی دستم از نقد و جنس عمل
Colophon: مشقه معجز رقم خان قندهاری، غفر الله ذنوبه، سنه ۱۲۷۵ مقدسه
Colophon: Mu‘jiz Raqam Khān Qandahārī drafted it, God forgive his sins, year 1275 (1858–1859 CE).

Undocumented. See Nº 28 above. Not the same as contemporaries Mu‘jiz Raqam Khān 'Munis' of Jaipur, or I‘jāz Raqam from Bhopal.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Probably written on paper handmade in the Indian subcontinent, embellished with sprayed gold ink.
Dimensions (leaf): 333 × 204 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Written primarily in 1 oblique column with 6 lines, and two more written vertically at right and left. Probably ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium and minuscule nasta‘līq script.

Decoration

Outlined with cloudbands infilled with painted gold.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Mu‘jiz Raqam Khān Qandahārī, possibly in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); 1275 (1858–1859 CE) AH.

30

Contents

Summary of Contents: An unidentified calligrapher named ‘Alī Riz̤ā copied this variation on a quatrain (rubā‘ī) by Mīr Dāmād (d. ca 1631)..
Folio 13a
Author: Mīr Dāmād, Muḥammad Bāqir ibn Muḥammad, d. ca. 1631;
‏ میر داماد، محمد باقر بن محمد
Scribe: ‘Alī Riz̤ā, fl. ca. 1860s;
علی رضا
Title: Excerpt of a ghazal from the Dīvān-i Ashrāf
Title: دیوان اشراف
Incipit: (excerpt) |در منقبت علی نه چونست و نه چند * در خانهٔ حق زاده بجانش سوگند هر لا ولدي که خانه زادي دارد شک‌نيست‌که‌باشدش‌به‌جاي فرزند
Colophon: المذنب علی رضا تحریر نمود.
Colophon: Written by the sinful ‘Alī Riz̤ā.

With multitudes of calligraphers of this name, this scribe proves difficult to attribute, but the appearance and condition suggest he was likely a contemporary of Hamilton.

Mīr Muḥammad Bāqir Dāmād Dīvān-i Ashrāf, Part II, edited by Samīrā Pustandūz (Tehran, Mīrās̱-i Maktūb, 1375 SH (2019 CE), p. 83.
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on sized and polished gold-flecked paper likely manufactured in the in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 226 × 147 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition, with extensive tidelines around the perimeters.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column with 6 lines. Probably ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium and minuscule black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by ‘Alī Riz̤ā in the Indian subcontinent; undated, but probably circa 1862–1867 CE, during Hamilton's tenure.

31

Contents

Summary of Contents: Unsigned, unidentified Persian nasta‘līq script quatrain (rubā‘ī).
Folio 14a
Title: Rubā‘ī
Author: Anonymous

Possibly completed by Fīz̤ā? Compare with Vol. 3, Nº 49 below.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on cream-coloured paper likely manufactured in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (written): 197 × 110 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition, with extensive tears and smudges, probably from when mounted.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º. Written in 1 oblique column with 4 lines. Probably ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium nasta‘līq script.

Decoration

Lines outlined with cloudbands infilled with minte blue foliate scrollwork, with trimgular gaps embellished with larger green symetrical foliar flourishes, surrounded by a blue argine with hand-painted foliate vine in white

History

Origin: Probably completed in the Indian subcontinent undated, but possibly early to mid–19th century CE.

32

Contents

Summary of Contents: This composition with the name of the scribe regrettably erased, combines couplets excerpted from parts thirty-five and thirty six of volume four of the Mas̱navī-yi Ma‘navī (Spiritual Couplets) by Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī (1207-1273).
Folio 15a
Author: Rūmī, Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad bin Muḥammad Bahāʾ al-Dīn Valad Balkhī, 1207-1273;
جلال الدین محمد رومی بن محمد بهاء الدین ولد بلخی
Title: Mas̱navī-yi Ma‘navī
Title: مثتوی معنوی
Incipit: (excerpt) هر چه تو در خواب بینی نیک و بد * روز محشر یک به یک پیدا شود | آنک در ذاتش تفکر کردنیست * در حقیقت آن نظر در ذات نیست | هست آن پندار او زیرا به راه * صد هزاران پرده آمد تا اله | هر یکی در پرده‌ای موصول خوست * وهم او آنست که آن خود عین هوست | پس پیمبر دفع کرد این وهم از او * تا نباشد در غلط سوداپز او
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on ivory-coloured paper likely manufactured in the Indian subcontinent, further embellished with sprayed gold paint.
Dimensions (leaf): 283 × 190 mm.

Dimensions (other intermediate margin): 240 × 143 mm.

Dimensions (other interior margin): 218 × 121 mm.

Dimensions (written): 98 × 194 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition, with abrasion to the upper-left corner where someone erased the scribe's name.

Layout

Portrait format, rotate 90º counter-clockwise, written in 2 columns, one oblique with six hemistichs, with the final two hemistichs written vertically to the left. Probably ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium nasta‘līq script.

Decoration

Lines outlined with cloud-bands and infilled with painted gold. Hand-painted interior margin with foliate vine in gold, intermediate margin of gold-flecked blue paper, and exterior mount tinted salmon pink paper decorated with large, positioned diamond-shaped pieces of gold leaf.

History

Origin: Probably completed in the Indian subcontinent undated, but possibly early to mid–19th century CE. Two faint, illegible square seal impressions at top suggest prior owners.

33

Contents

Summary of Contents: The scribe who copied this Persian rubā‘ī (quatrain) named ‘Ubayd Allāh Khān Tarkhān possibly also authored it. Undated, he completed another Arabic manuscript entitled Kifāyat al-Ḥikmah (Sufficiency of Philosophy), completed in 1140 AH (1727 CE) when aged twenty-one, also formerly owned by Hamilton and now held in the John Rylands Library (Arabic MS 247). Written on paper sprayed with fine gold ink, with the lines outlined in cloud bands and further embellished with hand-painted floral sprays.
Folio 16a
Title: Rubā‘ī
Title: رباعی
Author and Scribe: ‘Ubayd Allāh Khān Tarkhān;
عبید الله خان ترخان
Incipit: (beginning) نداریم از کس امید بہی
Colophon: کتبه عبید الله خان ترخان
Colophon: ‘Ubayd Allāh Khān Tarkhān wrote it
Language(s): Persian
Alphonse Mingana, Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the John Rylands Library, (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 19341934), cols. 696–697, Nº 416 [Rylands Arabic MS 247].

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 193 × 203 mm.

Dimensions (other intermediate margin): 143 × 109 mm.

Dimensions (written): 109 × 74 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition with slight insect damage, creases, and abrasion ans smudging on the surface.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column with 6 lines. Probably ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium and minuscule black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); undated, but probably circa 1140 AH (1727 CE) when he completed Rylands Arabic MS 247.

34

Contents

Summary of Contents: A scribe named Āqā ‘Alī copied this variant stanza from a longer Persian ghazal (lyric) poem by Vāqif Lāhūrī (d. ca. 1776) in regnal year ‘4’, which may pertain to several late Mughal rulers.
Folio 17a
Title: Tarjī‘ah'band-i Vāqif
Title: ترجیعه بند واقف
Author and Scribe: Vāqif, Nūr al-ʿAyn ibn Amānat Allāh Lāhūrī, d. ca. 1776 ;
عبید الله خان ترخان
Scribe: Āqā ‘Alī
Incipit: (excerpt) دیدار غنیمت است، بنشین بنشین * ای یار! غنیمت است، بنشین بنشین | این یک دو نفس که ما و تو یک‌جاییم بسیار غنیمت است، بنشین بنشین!
Colophon: نیازمند درگاه بی نیاز ۴ آقا علی تحریر نمود
Colophon: Requested when needless, written by Āqā ‘Ali, 4.
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on cream-coloured paper likely manufactured in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 195 × 130 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition, with extensive discolouraiton and cracking in the gold ground.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column at top with 4 lines and another two horizontally at bottom. Probably ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium and minuscule black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Mughal Empire dated regnal year ‘4’, hence unclear, but possibly 18th-century CE.

35

Contents

Summary of Contents: This rubā‘ī (quatrain) derives from a couplet by Ḥasan Dihlavī (ca. ‎1253–1338 CE) in the first line. It bears a signature of ‘Mīr ‘Ali’ which could either be a dubious reference to the scribe of that name from Herat ca. 1476–1544, or possibly another calligrapher by the same name.
Folio 18a
Author and Bibliographic antecedent: Ḥasan Dihlavī, Amīr Najm al-Dīn Ḥasan Sanjarī, ca. ‎1253–1338 CE;
حسن دهلویو نجم الدين حسن بن علاء الدين سنجاری
Author and Adapter: Anonymous
Dubious author: Mīr ʻAlī Ḥusaynī al-Haravī, ca. 1476–1544;
میر علی الهروی
Title: Rubā‘aī with couplet by Ḥasan Dihlavī
Incipit: (transcription) گرچه روی خوش تو گلزار است * خار خار غمت جگرخوار است
Colophon: Mīr ‘Alī (dubious)
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on tan-coloured paper likely manufactured in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 222 × 113 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition, with extensive discolouraiton and smudging on the surface.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column at top with 5 lines and another one horizontally at bottom. Probably ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed in Indian subcontinent; undated, but possibly 18th century CE.

36

Contents

Summary of Contents: A Persian rubā‘ī (quatrain) ascribed to Mughal Empress Nūr Jahān Baygam copied by Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī, (1838–1885), presumably for Hamilton.
Folio 19a
Author and Attributed name: Nūr Jahān, Empress, consort of Jahangir, Emperor of Hindustan, 1577–1645;
نور جهان بیگم
Scribe: Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī, 1838–1885;
راجا لال
Incipit: (excerpt) آهن که بپارس آشنا شد * فی‌الحال به صورت طلا شد | خورشید نظر چو کرد بر سنگ * تحقیق که لعل بی‌بها شد
Colophon: Rājā Lāl valad-i Munshī Jiwān Lāl

Rai Raja Lal Ji (1838–1885), who here identifies himself as the son of British informant Munshi Jewan Lal (1806–1884)

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Possibly written on British-made, ivory-coloured wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 117 × 102 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition with discolouration, repairs, and brushstroke-like staining possibly resulting from the mounting adhesive used.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column. Possibly ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium and minuscule black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Rājā Lāl in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE, during Hamilton's tenure.

Acc. 2023/72 Vol. III

Volume III contains eighteen calligraphy specimens, Nos. 37-54.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: 19 folios 6 flyleaves (ff. iii + 19 + iii) .

Binding

Handle binding with condition. In good, stable condition, with slight abrasion to the exteriors and board edges.

37

Contents

Summary of Contents: Unsigned specimen of opening lines of a Persian ghazal (lyric) poem by Ḥāfiẓ, which due to the condition and hand, probably dates to Hamilton's Delhi tenure in ca. 1862–1867.
Folio 2a
Author: Ḥāfiẓ;
حافظ
Title: Excerpt from a ghazal
Incipit: (excerpt) ای قبای پادشاهی راست بر بالای تو *‌ تاج شاهی را فروغ از گوهر والای تو | آفتاب فتح را هر دم طلوعی می‌دهد * از کلاهِ خسروی رخسارِ مه‌سیمایِ تو
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on thin weight, ivory-coloured wove, probably British-made paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 124 × 191 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 5 lines. Possibly ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed in Dehli; , undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure.

38

Contents

Summary of Contents: Muḥammad Bakhsh copied this unidentified poem in bold nasta‘līq with a brief supplicatory prayer in minuscule, with an appeal to engage in a ‘Dīvān-i Taṣnif’ (Assembly of Authorship), which possibly references Hamilton's founding of the Delhi Literary Society.
Folio 3a
Scribe: Muḥammad Bakhsh;
محمد بخش
Colophon: حضرت من شنیده‌ام که دیوان تصنیف حضور جمع می‌شود امیدوارم که نوشتن آن فدوی هنرداز شود بقولی که شاهان چه عجب کری نوازند کدارا

This same scribe also probably completed two works in British Library, RSPA 255, dated 5 and 8 Rabī‘ II 1281 (7 and 10 of Sept. 1684) and possibly Bodleian MS. S. Digby Or. 7, undated but mid-19th century.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on sized and polished tan-coloured paper probably manufactured in the Indian subcontinent
Dimensions (leaf): 138 × 242 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 2 oblique columns with 5 lines and a final horizontal line at bottom. Possibly ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed in Dehli; , undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure.

39

Contents

Summary of Contents: An excerpt from Part 55 of Yüsuf ū Zulaykhā by Jāmī (1414–1492) signed 'Javāhir Raqam (bejewlled pen)', the title of Sayyid ‘Alī Khān Tabrīzī al-Ḥusayni, who migrated from Iran after the Emperor ‘Ālamgīr I invited him to India to teach the royal family, and was the father of Shams al-Dīn, Javāhir Raqam al-S̱ānī (the second jewelled pen).
Folio 4a
Scribe: Javāhir-Raqam, Sayyid ‘Alī Khān Tabrīzī al-Ḥusayni جواهر رقم
Author: Jāmī, Nūr al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān bin Aḥmad, 1414-1493;
جامى، عبد الرحمن ابن احمد
Title: Laylá ū Majnūn
Title: لیلی و مجنون
Incipit: (transcription) به مقبولی کسی را دسترس نیست * قبول خاطر اندر دست کس نیست | بسازیبا رخ نیکو شمایل * که سویش طبع مردم نیست مایل | بسا لولی وش شیرین کرشمه * که ریزد خون ز دل ها چشمه چشمه

Intermediate marbled margin: 110 x 228

Language(s): Persian

References

Ghulam Muhammad Haft Qalami Dihlavi, The Tadhkira-i Khushnavīsān of Mawlānā G̲h̲ulām Muḥammad Dihlavī, ed. M. Hidayet Husain, Bibliotheca Indica, Nº 1233 (Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1910), pp. 55–57.
Mahdī Bayānī, Aḥvāl va As̱ār-i Khvushnivīsān 1, 2nd ed. (Tehran: ‘Ilmī, 1378 SH [2000]), pp. 447–449, Nº 633
Iḥtirām al-Dīn Shāghil Aḥmad Us̱mānī, Saḥīfah-yi Khushnivīsān, 2nd. Ed. (New Delhi: Taraqqī-yi Urdū Biyūro, 1987), p. 139 no. 187.

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 275 × 168 mm.
Dimensions (written): 210 × 83 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column with 8 lines. Possibly ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Sayyid ‘Alī Khān Tabrīzī al-Ḥusayni Javāhir Raqam, possibly in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); undated, but possibly late 17th century CE.

40

Contents

Summary of Contents: Unsigned, non-consecutive lines from the Ā'īnah-i Sikandarī (Mirror of Alexander) by Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī (ca. 1253-1325). Finely illuminated but damaged.
Folio 5a
Title: Ā'īnah-i Sikandarī
Author: Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī, ca. 1253–1325;
امیر خسرو دهلوی
Incipit: (transcription) همیشه به نیکی و نیک اختری * بمان بر سر تخت اسکندری | امیر خسرو خضر وار عمر فراوانت باد * می اندر قدح آب حیوانت باد
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 235 × 117 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column with 4 lines. Possibly ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed in the Indian subcontinent; undated, but possibly 18th century CE.

41

Contents

Summary of Contents: Unidentified Persian aphorism signed by an unidentified calligrapher named Mīr Niẓām, possibly an original poem in the hand of the poet.
Folio 6a
Scribe: Mīr Niẓām;
میر نظام
Incipit: (excerpt) کار تو لطف است و کار من سهو و منکر اندر بر مکن در
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 222 × 137 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column with 8 lines. Possibly ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed by Mīr Niẓām in Dehli; , undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure.

42

Contents

Summary of Contents: Calligrapher Raḥīm Allāh, a student of ‘Aṭā Allāh Āghā Mīrzā (d. ca. 1857–1858), who studied under Delhi master Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857) in turn, copied this original poem in 1280 AH (1863–1864 CE).
Folio 7a
Scribe: Raḥīm Allāh;
رحیم الله
Incipit: (transcription) بر درگهت ای سپهر جاه آمده‌ایم * در سایه‌ات از بهر پناه آمدم

For more information on Raḥīm Allāh's teacher, Āghā Mīrzā, See also Haft Qalamī Dihlavī, pp. 72–73. Bayānī, Vol. 1, pp. 1–2, Nº 2, and a calligraphy specimen in the National Museum, Nº 61.494.

Language(s): Persian

References

Muḥammad Ayyūb Qādirī, 'Fann-i khaṭāṭī kā ayk nādir ẕakhīrah'. The proceedings of the Pakistan History Conference (ninth session): Held at Hyderabad, under the auspices of the Pakistan Historical Society, 1959 (Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society, 1962), 390
Iḥtirām al-Dīn Shāghil Aḥmad Us̱mānī, Saḥīfah-yi Khushnivīsān, 2nd. Ed. (New Delhi: Taraqqī-yi Urdū Biyūro, 1987), p. 132, Nº 146.

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 290 × 181 mm.
Dimensions (leaf): 231 × 127 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column with 6 lines. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Raḥīm Allāh in Dehli; 1280 AH (1863–1864 CE).

43

Contents

Summary of Contents: Excerpt from a Persian ghazal (lyric) poem of Sa‘dī Shīrāzī (1193–1292), rendered as a rubā'ī (quatrain) and signed by Ghulām-i Nabī.
Folio 8a
Author: Sa‘dī Shīrāzī, 1193–1292 سعدی شيرازی
Scribe: Ghulām-i Nabī;
غلام نبی
Title: Excerpt from a ghazal
Incipit: (excerpt) گر ما مقصریم تو بسیار رحمتی * جرمی که می‌رود به امید وفای تست | شاید که در حساب نیاید گناه ما * آنجا که فضل و رحمت بی‌منتهای تست
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 220 × 115 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in opposing directions with variant lines. Possibly ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed in the Indian subcontinent; undated, but possibly 18th century CE.

44

Contents

Summary of Contents: Raḥmat ‘Alī, a student of prominent Delhi calligrapher Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857) (as per Nº 57 below), copied this original Persian panegyric rubā‘ī (quatrain) and also possibly composed it in honour of Hamilton.
Folio 9a
Author and Scribe: Raḥmat ‘Alī;
رحمت علی
Title: Rubā‘ī
Incipit: (excerpt) با عیش و نشاط و کامرانی * عمر تو هزار سال بادا | زیر قدم تو هر شب و روز * بد خواه تو سای مال بادا
Colophon: ‘Written on Monday, in a hurry.’
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 224 × 148 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in opposing directions with variant lines. Possibly ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; , undated, but probably circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure.

45

Contents

Summary of Contents: Although undated, this specimen is probably the earliest in the collection, and also the most valuable. Famed calligrapher Mīr ‘Alī Haravī (d. ca. 1544) copied this Persian ghazal (lyric) poem by Kātibī Turshīzī (d. ca. 1434). To it, he added lines of his own, and dedicated it in the colophon to his student Sulṭān Bāyazīd (d. 1579), whom he tenderly describes in familial terms as his 'son'. Descended from a prominent sayyid family of Herat. He originally trained under Aẓhar and then worked under Sulṭān ‘Alī al-Mashhadī in the court kitābkhānah (library-scriptorium) of Timruid Ruler Sulṭān Ḥusayn Bayqarā (b. 1439 r. 1469–1506). Frequently portrayed as the second of the three greatest masters of nasta‘līq script after Sulṭān ‘Alī , he was taken prisoner by the Uzbek Amīr of Bukhara, ‘Ubayd Allāh Khān Uzbek (b. 1487, r. 1534–1539), removed and forced to direct the library of his captor for the rest of his life.
Folio 10a
Author: Turshīzī, Kātibī, d. ca. 1434);
كاتبى ترشيزى، محمد بن عبد الله
Title: Ghazal
Scribe, Author and Dedicator: Haravī, Mīr ‘Alī, d. ca. 1544;
میر علی هروی
Dedicatee and Addressee: Sulṭān Bāyazīd, d. ca. 1579;
سلطان بایزید
Incipit: (excerpt)  هر راه که سینه سوز داری ای دل * از آتش دل فروز داری ای دل
Explicit: بهر فرزند سعاد بلند سلطان بایزید
Colophon: عبدكم مير على الكاتبى
Colophon: For the long-happy son
Language(s): Persian

References

For another specimen by Mīr ‘Alī also written for Sulṭān Bāyazīd, see Royal Collection Trust, RCIN 1005052.
Sheila Blair, Islamic Calligraphy (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008), pp. 430–432, 466–467 n55–60.
Wheeler M. Thackston, 'Calligraphy in the Albums', in Muraqqa‘: Imperial Mughal Albums from the Chester Beatty Library, ed. Elaine Wright (Alexandria, VA: Art Services International, 2008), pp. 154–58.
Annemarie Schimmel, 'The Calligraphy and Poetry of the Kevorkian Album', in The Emperor’s Album: Images of Mughal India, eds. Stuart Cary Welch, Annemarie Schimmel, Marie L. Swietochowski, and Wheeler M. Thackston (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987), pp. 31–36.
and Priscilla Soucek, '‘Alī Heravī', Encyclopædia Iranica Vol. 1, fasc. 8 (1985), pp. 864–865.
Vladimir Minorsky, Calligraphers and Painters (Washington DC: Freer Gallery of Art, 1959), pp. 126–131
Mahdī Bayānī, Aḥvāl, Vol. 2, pp. 493–516, Nº 703.

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 240 × 115 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in an oblique column at top, another horizontally underneath, with the final lines written vertically at left, with 19 lines total. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed by Mīr ‘Alī Haravī (d. ca. 1544) in Bukhara; undated, but probably circa 1529–1544 CE.

46

Contents

Summary of Contents: Delhi calligrapher Raḥīm Allāh (fl. mid–late 19th c), a student of ‘Aṭā Allāh Āghā Mīrzā (d. ca. 1857–1858), who studied under Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857) in turn, copied this anonymous Persian tongue-twister embellished with a finely illuimnated margin in 1279 AH (1862–1863 CE), hence likely presented to Hamilton soon after his appointment as Commisioner.
Folio 11a
Scribe: Raḥīm Allāh, fl. mid-late 19th c.;
رحیم الله
Incipit: (excerpt) زیب ختنی زینت تخت چینی * بی چین چنین تخت چین نشینی * بنشین بشین بخشش فیض بخش * زین بخشش فیض فیض بخشش هسنی

. An 18th-century scribe named Muḥammad Ībrāhīm copied the same composition in Rylands Persian MS 10, folio 25a and Bodleian MS. Ouseley Add. 173, folio 23a.

Language(s): Persian

References

Muḥammad Ayyūb Qādirī, 'Fann-i khaṭāṭī kā ayk nādir ẕakhīrah'. The proceedings of the Pakistan History Conference (ninth session): Held at Hyderabad, under the auspices of the Pakistan Historical Society, 1959 (Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society, 1962), p. 390.
Iḥtirām al-Dīn Shāghil Aḥmad Us̱mānī, Saḥīfah-yi Khushnivīsān, 2nd. Ed. (New Delhi: Taraqqī-yi Urdū Biyūro, 1987), p. 132, Nº 146.

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 290 × 177 mm.
Dimensions (written): 223 × 117 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column with 8 lines. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in minusclue and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Raḥīm Allāh in Dehli; 1279 AH (1862–1863 CE).

47

Contents

Summary of Contents: A little-known, possibly 18th-century scribe named Muḥammad Fāz̤il ‘Alavī copied what may be his original panegyric Persian rūbā‘ī (quatrain) praising a prevailing ruler.
Folio 12a
Author and Scribe: Muḥammad Fāz̤il ‘Alavī;
محمد فاضل علوی
Title: Rūbā‘ī
Title: رباعی
Language(s): Persian

References

Muḥammad Ayyūb Qādirī, “Fann-i khaṭāṭī kā ayk nādir ẕakhīrah.” The proceedings of the Pakistan History Conference (ninth session): Held at Hyderabad, under the auspices of the Pakistan Historical Society, 1959 (Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society, 1962), p. 386.
Khan Sahib Maulvi Zafar, Specimens of Calligraphy in the Delhi Museum of Archaeology (Calcutta: Gov. of India, 1926), p. 16, Nº 81.

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 193 × 105 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 5 lines. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Muḥammad Fāz̤il ‘Alavī in Dehli; 1279 AH (1862–1863 CE).

48

Contents

Summary of Contents: Mughal court calligrapher ‘Ubayd Allāh Shīrīn Raqam (fl. ca. 1717–1751) copied these lines excerpted from a Persian ghazal (lyric) poem of Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī (ca. 1253-1325). He served under Emperors Farrukh Siyar (b. 1687, r. 1713-1719) and Muḥammad Shāh (b. 1702 r. 1719–1748).
Folio 13a
Author: Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī, ca. 1253–1325;
امیر خسرو دهلوی
Title: Excerpt of a ghazal
Scribe: ‘Ubayd Allāh Shīrīn Raqam Sirhindī, fl. ca. 1717–1751;
عبید الله شیرین رقم سرہندی
Language(s): Persian

References

Catherine B. Asher, Architecture of Mughal India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), p. 295, pl. 193.
Mahdī Bayānī, Aḥvāl va As̱ār-i Khvushnivīsān, Vol. 2, 2nd ed. (Tehran: ‘Ilmī, 1378 SH [2000]), pp. 426–427, no. 589, describes one specimen held in the Delhi Archaeology Museum, probably referencing Zafar, and another held in the library of the Āstān-i Quds Raz̤avī in Mashhad.
Iḥtirām al-Dīn Shāghil Aḥmad Us̱mānī, Saḥīfah-yi Khushnivīsān, 2nd. ed. (New Delhi: Taraqqī-yi Urdū Biyūro, 1987), p. 147, Nº 229, pl. 33, misspells his name as ‘Ibādallāh, but reproduces another specimen.
Khan Sahib Maulvi Zafar, Specimens of Calligraphy in the Delhi Museum of Archaeology (Calcutta: Gov. of India, 1926), p. 16, Nº 81.
London, British Library, Johnson Album 65B contains specimens dated between 1137–1150 AH (1724–1738 CE), presented to the Library by Dr Charles Wilkins, first Librarian to the East India Company, ca. 1801–1836.
Rylands Persian MS 896, a Qiṣṣah-'i Hīr va Rānjhan (Tale of Hīr va Rānjhan) signed 'Mīr ‘Ubayd Allāh Shīrīn Raqam Sirhindī' dated 25 Shawwāl 1164 AH (16 Sept. 1751 CE).
Royal Asiatic Society Persian MS 97, an incomplete Tuzuk-i Taymūrī intended for Muḥammad Shah, bears a secondary plausible attribution to this scribe.
Hyderabad, Salar Jung Museum, Nº 1000, an Intikhab-i Lāl ū Damān completed 25 Safar, 8th year Muhammad Shahi [1139 AH] (11 October 1726 CE), see Muhammad Ashraf (1969), Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the Salar Jung Museum Vol. V pp. 83–84, Nº 1790.
For two other specimens in a calligraphy album in Patna, Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, for which see Abdul Muqtadir, Catalogue of Arabic and Persian Manuscripts in the Oriental Public Library at Bankipore (Patna: 1927), pp. 93–94, Nº 1080, folios 5v and 6r.

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 195 × 107 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in an oblique column at top, another horizontally underneath, with the final lines written vertically at left, with 12 lines total. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed by ‘Ubayd Allāh Shīrīn Raqam in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); undated but circa circa 1717–1751 CE AHduring the calligrapher's floruit.

49

Contents

Summary of Contents: This original Persian panegyric poem bears the signature of Fīz̤ā, nome-de-plume of Munshī Gūbind Parshād (fl. ca. 1850–1912). A pupil of poet Mendu Lal 'Zar' Lakhnavi, he worked as a calligrapher for the Nawal Kishore Press producing lithographic imprints in Lucknow. He authored of a Dīvān of poetry, a Persian Mas̱navī entitled Gulzār-i Fīz̤ā, and a Hindustani redaction of Shīrīn ī Khusraw from Gulistān of Sa‘dī. In the colophon, he notes how he evidently composed and recited this composition for one ‘Mīrzā Jīv’.
Folio 14a
Author, Scribe and Autographer: Fīz̤ā, Munshī Gūbind Parshād, fl. ca. 1850–1912;
فیضا
Dedicatee: Mīrzā Jīv; ميرزا جيو
Incipit: (transcription) آنی که ظفر قرین کارت کردند * گلدسته دسته روز کارت کردند

Original poem by the scribe presumably composed and recited for Mīrzā Jīv (‘bih jahat-i Mīrzā Jīv guftah shud’), whose identity remains unclear but it may possibly reference Hamilton.

Language(s): Persian

References

Munshī Gūbind Parshād Fīz̤ā, Shīrīn ū Khusraw. Kanpur, Nawal Kishore, 1887.
Munshī Gūbind Parshād Fīz̤ā, Gulzār-i Fīz̤ā. Kanpur, Nawal Kishore, 1859.
Ulrike Stark, An Empire of Books : the Naval Kishore Press and the Diffusion of the Printed Word in Colonial India (Ranikhet: Orient Black, 2007), p. 280.

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 180 × 98 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 2 oblique columns with 5 lines each, 10 total. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Completed by Munshī Gūbind Parshād Fīz̤ā, possibly in Kanpur; undated, but probably circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure.

50

Contents

Summary of Contents: Celebrated Mughal scribe Hidāyat Allāh (d. ca. 1706–1707), known by the epithet ‘Zarrīn-raqam’ (Golden-writing) copied these lines exerpted from a Persian ghazal (lyric) poem of Ḥāfiẓ dated 1115 AH (1703–1704 CE). A student of émigré from Iran and Mughal court scribe Sayyid ‘Alī Khān Tabrīzī al-Ḥusayni Javāhir Raqam (see Nº 39 above), he eventually served as kitābdār (royal librarian) to Emperor ‘Ālamgīr I (b. 1618, r. 1658–1707) and also taught calligraphy to his son, Prince Kām Bakhsh (d. 1709).
Folio 15a
Author: Ḥāfiẓ, ca. 1315–1390;
حافظ
Title: Excerpt from a ghazal
Scribe: Hidāyat Allāh Zarrīn-raqam d. ca. 1706–1707;
هدایت الله زرین رقم
Colophon: 1115 AH (1703–1704 CE).

Ghazal of Ḥāfiẓ

Language(s): Persian

References

Mahdī Bayānī, Aḥvāl ū As̱ār-i Khvushnivīsān Vol. 1, 2nd ed. (Tehran: ‘Ilmī, 1378 SH [2000]), pp. 960–961 no. 1493
Iḥtirām al-Dīn Shāghil Aḥmad Us̱mānī, Saḥīfah-yi Khushnivīsān, 2nd. Ed. (New Delhi: Taraqqī-yi Urdū Biyūro, 1987), pp. 208–209, Nº 529.
Khan Sahib Maulvi Zafar, Specimens of Calligraphy in the Delhi Museum of Archaeology (Calcutta: Gov. of India, 1926), p. 13, Nº 54.

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 175 × 88 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column with the final couplet written vertically to the left, in 17 lines total. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Hidāyat Allāh Zarrīn-raqam(d. ca. 1706–1707) in Shāhjahānābād (Dehli); 1115 AH (1703–1704 CE).

51

Contents

Summary of Contents: Excerpt from a Persian ghazal (lyric) poem of Sa‘dī Shīrāzī (1193–1292), rendered as a rubā'ī (quatrain) and signed by a little-known calligrapher, probably from Lucknow, named ‘Abd al-Razzāq (fl. 1781–1783).
Folio 16a
Author: Sa‘dī Shīrāzī, 1193–1292 سعدی شيرازی
Scribe: ‘Abd al-Razzāq, fl. 1781–1783;
عبد الرزاق
Title: Excerpt from a ghazal
Incipit: (excerpt) گر ما مقصریم تو بسیار رحمتی * عذری که می‌رود به امید وفای تست | شاید که در حساب نیاید گناه ما * آنجا که فضل و رحمت بی‌منتهای تست

For the same poem copied by another scribe, see Nº 43 above.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 150 × 68 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 6 lines. Possibly ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed Lucknow; undated, but possibly 18th century CE.

52

Contents

Summary of Contents: Unsigned quatrain from the introduction to the Gulistān by Sa‘dī Shīrāzī (1193–1292) may be copied by Fīz̤ī (see Nº 49 above).
Folio 17a
Author: Sa‘dī Shīrāzī, 1193–1292 سعدی شيرازی
Title: Gulistān
Title: گلستان
Incipit: (excerpt) ای کریمی که از خزانهٔ غیب * گَبر و تَرسا وظیفه‌خَور داری | دوستان را کجا کنی محروم؟ * تو که با دشمن این نظر داری
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 117 × 193 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 4 lines. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed in Lucknow; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure.

53

Contents

Summary of Contents: Lucknow author and scribe Muḥammad Fāʾiq bin Ghulām-Ḥusayn Ṣiddīqī Lak’hnawī (fl. ca. 1794–1803 CE) copied this excerpt of a Persian ghazal (lyric) poem, rendered as a rubā'ī (quatrain) Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī, ca. 1253–1325 as a . He also authored a Persian grammar Makhzan al-fawāʾid and a collection of letters entitled Dastūr al-ins̲h̲āʾ, the latter also collected by Hamilton, now Rylands Persian MS 478.
Folio 18a
Author: Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī, ca. 1253–1325;
امیر خسرو دهلوی
Title: Excerpt of a ghazal
Scribe: Muḥammad Fāyiq bin Ghulām-Ḥusayn Ṣiddīqī Lak’hnawī, fl. ca. 1794–1803 محمد فایق
Incipit: (excerpt) بخت همواره همعنان تو باد *  بدخواه بر سنان تو باد | ‌هر مرادی که بشمری زانگشت * یک بیک جمله بادت اندر مشت
Language(s): Persian

References

C. A. Storey, Persian Literature: A Bio-bibliographical Survey, Vol. III, Pt. 1 (London: Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1984), Nº 209.
C. A. Storey, Persian Literature: A Bio-bibliographical Survey, Vol. III, Pt. 2 (London: Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1990), pp. 363–364, Nº 585.

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 163 × 76 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 6 lines. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed by Muḥammad Fāyiq in Lucknow; undated, but possibly circa 1794 to 1803 CE during the author's floruit.

54

Contents

Summary of Contents: Lucknow author and scribe Muḥammad Fāʾiq bin Ghulām-Ḥusayn Ṣiddīqī Lak’hnawī (fl. ca. 1794–1803 CE), who copied the above Nº 53, also copied this rubā'ī (quatrain) by Fayz̤ī Kāshānī (1597–1680) and vaguely dated it ‘[regnal] year 3’.
Folio 19a
Author: Fayz̤ Kāshānī, Mullā Muḥsin Muḥammad ibn Shāh Murtaz̤á, 1597–1680;
فیض کاشانی، ملامحسن محمد بن شاه مرتضی
Scribe: Muḥammad Fāyiq bin Ghulām-Ḥusayn Ṣiddīqī Lak’hnawī, fl. ca. 1794–1803 محمد فایق
Title: Rubā‘ī
Incipit: ای درگه تو قبله ارباب امید * ری نکہت خلق تو حيات جاويد | از پرورش تو قطره گردد دریا * وز تربیت تو ذره گردد خورشید
Language(s): Persian

Acc. 2023/72 Vol. IV

Volume IV contains eighteen calligraphy specimens, Nos. 55-72.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: 19 folios 6 flyleaves (ff. iii + 19 + iii) .
Dimensions (leaf): 525 × 360 mm.

Binding

542 × 410 × 72 mm.

Handle binding with condition. In good, stable condition, with slight abrasion on the exteriors and board edges.

55

Contents

Summary of Contents: Delhi calligrapher Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857) copied this excerpt from a Persian ghazal (lyric) poem by Nūr al-‘Ayn Vāqif (d. ca. 1776). A student of Ghulām Muḥammad Haft Qalamī Dihlavī (d. ca. 1823–1824), who praises him highly in his Taz̲kirah-'i Khvushnivīsān (Chronicles of Calligraphers) and notes his nickname of panjah-kash a term denoting a finger grappling exercise, on account of his enthusiasm for traditional pahlawanī wrestling. He died from a bullet fired by an unknown assailant while defending his home during the 1857 uprising, aged 95.
Folio 2a
Author: Vāqif, Nūr al-‘Ayn, d. ca. 1776;
نور العین واقف
Title: Excerpt from a ghazal
Editor: Panjah-kash, Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī, d. 1857;
محمد امیر رضوی پنجه کش
Incipit: (excerpt) تو به کار کسی نمی آیی * بکنار کسی نمی آیی | بحچه امید میتوان مردن * بمزار کسی نمی‌آیی
Colophon: فقیر محمد امیر، غفر له
Colophon: The poor Muḥammad Amīr, forgive him
Language(s): Persian

References

Ghulām Muḥammad Haft Qalamī Dihlavī, The Tadhkira-i Khushnavīsān of Mawlānā G̲h̲ulām Muḥammad Dihlavī, ed. M. Hidayet Husain, Bibliotheca Indica, Nº 1233 (Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1910), pp. 71–73.
Muḥammad Ayyūb Qādirī, 'Fann-i khaṭāṭī kā ayk nādir ẕakhīrah'. The proceedings of the Pakistan History Conference (ninth session): Held at Hyderabad, under the auspices of the Pakistan Historical Society, 1959 (Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society, 1962), pp. 378–379.
Pares Islam Syed Mustafizur Rahman, Islamic Calligraphy in Medieval India (Dacca: University Press, 1979), p. 92, pl. 37.
Iḥtirām al-Dīn Shāghil Aḥmad Us̱mānī, Saḥīfah-yi Khushnivīsān, 2nd. Ed. (New Delhi: Taraqqī-yi Urdū Biyūro, 1987), p. 15, Nº 70.
Khan Sahib Maulvi Zafar, Specimens of Calligraphy in the Delhi Museum of Archaeology (Calcutta: Gov. of India, 1926), p. 15, Nº 70.

Physical Description

Support:
Dimensions (leaf): 134 × 75 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 8 lines. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash in Dehli; undated but before his death in 1857 CE AH.

56

Contents

Summary of Contents: An calligrapher named Mahdī copied this unidentified Persian ghazal (lyric) poem in nasta‘līq in Kashmir, possibly 18th century.
Folio 3a
Editor: Mahdī;
مهدی
Author: Unidentified
Title: Unidentified Persian ghazal
Incipit: (transcription) آمد شبی ز خانه برون با رخ ماه * لعل و صد بیستم و چشمی و صد نگاه
Colophon: حرره مهدی غفر له... در جنت کشمیر بی نظیر در صورت تحریر اتمام یافت
Colophon: Mahdī wrote it, the writing was completed in the incomparable garden of Kashmir.
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Dimensions (leaf): 186 × 69 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition, with a large vertical crease, insect damage, and smudging, with some gold ground repainted.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 column the first six lines oblique, another four opposite, and one horizontal line at bottom. 13 lines total. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Completed by Mahdī in Kashmir; undated, but probably 18th century CE.

57

Contents

Summary of Contents: Raḥmat ‘Alī, a student of prominent Delhi calligrapher Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857) copied this original Persian panegyric rubā‘ī (quatrain) in 1279 AH (1862 CE), hence likely presented to Hamilton soon after his appointment as Commisioner, and possibly composed in honour of that occasion. The same scribe copied the same poem above, Nº 44.
Folio 4a
Title: Rubā‘ī
Scribe: Raḥmat ‘Alī;
رحمت علی
Incipit: (excerpt) با عیش و نشاط و کامرانی * عمر تو هزار سال بادا | زیر قدم تو هر شب و روز * بد خواه تو سای مال بادا
Colophon: مشقه خاکسا ازلی رحمت علی از شاگردان محمد امیر مرحوم اعطی الفردوس
Colophon: Raḥmat ‘Alī among the apprentices of the late Muḥammad Amīr Gift of Paradise, 1279 AH (1862 CE)

Unrecorded in sources on calligraphy, the scribe here states how he trained under Mīr Panjah-kash. He likely conceived of it as a way to both praise his new potential patron and highlight his esteemed pedigree. See Nº 47 above.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: European machine-made laid, ~16 laid lines per 20 mm and 27 mm between chain lines.
Dimensions (leaf): 327 × 200 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, primarily written in 1 oblique column in four bold lines and three smaller ones, with additional ones written vertically and at opposing angles in the remaining corners, for 13 lines total. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Raḥmat ‘Alī in Dehli; 1279 AH (1862–1863 CE).

58

Contents

Summary of Contents: ‘Ibād Allāh Bayg I‘jāz Raqam Khān (fl. mid-late 19th c), a son of Mughal nobleman ‘Abd Allāh Khān, copied this excerpt from a Persian panegyric ghazal (lyric) poem by Ḥāfiẓ (ca. 1315–1390) on Friday, 17 Muḥarram 1283 (1 June 1866 CE). He studied under Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857). That master's teacher in turn, Ghulām Muḥammad Haft Qalamī Dihlavī (d. ca. 1823–1824), explicitly praises him as his student's principal apprentice in his Taz̲kirah-'i Khvushnivīsān (Chronicles of Calligraphers). Ultimately court calligrapher to the last Mughal emperor Muḥammad Bahādur Shāh II (1775–1862, r. 1837–1857), but then after 1857, to the Raja of Patiala.
Folio 5a
Author: Ḥāfiẓ, ca. 1315–1390;
حافظ
Title: Excerpt from a ghazal
Editor: I‘jāz Raqam Khān, ‘Ibād Allāh Bayg, fl. mid-late 19th c.;
عباد الله بیگ عجاز رقم خان
Colophon: ‘Ibād Allāh Bayg known as 'I‘jāz Raqam Khān', Friday, 17 Muḥarram 1283 (1 June 1866 CE).
Language(s): Persian

References

Ghulām Muḥammad Haft Qalamī Dihlavī, The Tadhkira-i Khushnavīsān of Mawlānā G̲h̲ulām Muḥammad Dihlavī, ed. M. Hidayet Husain, Bibliotheca Indica, Nº 1233 (Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1910), p. 73.
Muḥammad Ayyūb Qādirī, 'Fann-i khaṭāṭī kā ayk nādir ẕakhīrah'. The proceedings of the Pakistan History Conference (ninth session): Held at Hyderabad, under the auspices of the Pakistan Historical Society, 1959 (Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society, 1962), p. 381.
Iḥtirām al-Dīn Shāghil Aḥmad Us̱mānī, Saḥīfah-yi Khushnivīsān, 2nd. Ed. (New Delhi: Taraqqī-yi Urdū Biyūro, 1987), p. 15, Nº 70.
Khan Sahib Maulvi Zafar, Specimens of Calligraphy in the Delhi Museum of Archaeology (Calcutta: Gov. of India, 1926), p. 16, Nº 73.

Physical Description

Support: Straight-grained, Scottish-made blue laid paper, ~20 laid lines per 20 mm and 27 mm between chain lines, watermarked ‘EDINBURGH 1861’. 43 × 141 mm. 43 x 141 mm
Dimensions (leaf): 299 × 212 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, primarily written in 1 oblique column in four bold lines and three smaller ones, with additional ones written at opposing angles in the remaining corners, for 12 lines total. Unruled.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; Friday, 17 Muḥarram 1283 (1 June 1866 CE) AH .

59

Contents

Summary of Contents: A Persian rubā‘ī (quatrain) ascribed to Nūr Jahān Baygam copied by an undocumented calligrapher named Ḥassū in bold South Asian-style naskh script 24 Jumādà II 1283 (2 November 1866 CE), towards the close of Hamilton's Delhi tenure.
Folio 6a
Author and Attributed name: Nūr Jahān, Empress, consort of Jahangir, Emperor of Hindustan, 1577–1645;
نور جهان بیگم
Scribe: Ḥassū;
حسّو
Incipit: (excerpt) آهن که بپارس آشنا شد * فی‌الحال به صورت طلا شد | خورشید نظر چو کرد بر سنگ * تحقیق که لعل بی‌بها شد
Colophon: بنده فقیر حیّو ۲۴ بیست و چهارم شهر جمادی الثانی سنه ۱۲۸۳ هجری نبوی صلی الله علیه و سلم
Colophon: The servant, the poor Ḥassū, 24 Jumādà II 1283 (2 November 1866 CE)
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Cross-grained, bright green toned handmade paper, with ~14 laid lines per cm.
Dimensions (leaf): 289 × 178 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 6 lines with the colophon continuing in two vertical lines on either side. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black South Asian-style naskh script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Ḥassū in Dehli; 24 Jumādà II 1283 (2 November 1866 CE) AH, towards the close of Hamilton's Delhi tenure.

60

Contents

Summary of Contents: An undocumented calligrapher named ‘Ināyat Aḥmad copied this Persian rubā‘ī (quatrain) ascribed to Mughal Empress Nūr Jahān Baygam in Delhi in 1279 AH (1862–1863 CE), early in Hamilton's Delhi tenure.
Folio 7a
Scribe: ‘Ināyat Aḥmad;
عنایت احمد
Incipit: (excerpt) زآن گه که تو را بر من مسکین نظر است * آثارم از آفتاب مشهورتر است | گر خود همه عیب‌ها بدین بنده در است * هر عیب که سلطان بپسندد، هنر است
Colophon: فقیر عنایت احمد نوشت در بلده دهلے سنہ ۱۲۷۸ ہجری
Colophon: The poor ‘Ināyat Aḥmad wrote it in Delhi 1279 AH (1862–1863 CE).
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on very thin, probably British-made green wove tissue paper pasted over pink wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 275 × 184 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition, with tears in the upper tissue layer.

Layout

, rotated 90º

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 7 lines with the colophone continuing vertically on both side. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by ‘Ināyat Aḥmad in Dehli; 1279 AH (1862–1863 CE).

61

Contents

Summary of Contents: A scribe named Muḥammad Ḥasan intently selected a colourful marbled paper to copy what may be his original Persian rubā‘ī (quatrain) that celebrates the festival of Holi.
Folio 8a
Title: Rubā‘ī celebrating Holi
Author and Scribe: Muḥammad Ḥasan;
محمد حسن
Incipit: (excerpt) رسید موسم ہولی و شاد مانیهاست * بنوش باده که بس موسم جوانیهاست |‌ فلک ز رنگ عبیر و کلال سرخ شده * بود سعید که هم وقت زر فشانیهاست
Colophon: کتبه محمر حسن عفر له
Colophon: Muḥammad Ḥasan wrote it, forgive him.

Otherwise undocumented, he may be the same as the scribe of British Library IO Islamic 3985, a manuscript acquired by William Irvine which may date to either 1213 AH (1799 CE) or, according to C. A. Storey, 1312 AH (1895 CE).

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on softly marbled paper featuring pale pink nested within green bisected droplet motifs
Dimensions (leaf): 207 × 115 mm.
Dimensions (written): 189 × 96 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with slight smudging.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 6 lines. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in minusclue and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed by Muḥammad Ḥasan in Indian subcontinent; undated, but possibly late 18th to 19th centuries CE.

62

Contents

Summary of Contents: This unsigned Persian rubā‘ī (quatrain) from the introduction to the Gulistān (Rose Garden) by Sa‘dī Shīrāzī (1193–1292) written on bright pink British-made wove paper probably dates to Hamilton's Delhi tenure, ca. 1862–1867.
Folio 9a
Author: Sa‘dī Shīrāzī, 1193–1292 سعدی شيرازی
Title: Excerpt from the Gulistān
Title: گلستان
Incipit: (excerpt) من بندهٔ حضرتِ کریمم * پروردهٔ نعمتِ قدیمم | گر بی هنرم وگر هنرمند * لطف است امیدم از خداوند
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Bright pink British machine-made wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 218 × 135 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 5 lines. Unruled.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure.

63

Contents

Summary of Contents: Simply signed ‘Nūr Allāh’ underneath this unidentified, possibly original quatrain, it may be either that of Ḥafiẓ Nūr Allāh or Shaykh Nūr Allāh, both prominent 18th c. Lucknow calligraphers copied this original Persian rubā‘ī (quatrain) .
Folio 10a
Title: Rubā‘ī
Scribe: Nūr Allāh;
نور الله
Incipit: دل شکسته ما را کسی در شب کند * که دل شکستگی خویش بحسب کند | شکستگی بدرستی توان در شب نمود *‌ شکسته کی بشکستن کسی درست کند
Colophon: كبته العبد المذنب فقير نور الله غفر له
Colophon: The poor, sinful servant Nūr Allāh wrote it, forgive him.
Language(s): Persian

References

Ghulām Muḥammad Haft Qalamī Dihlavī, The Tadhkira-i Khushnavīsān of Mawlānā G̲h̲ulām Muḥammad Dihlavī, ed. M. Hidayet Husain, Bibliotheca Indica, Nº 1233 (Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1910), pp. 63–64.
Iḥtirām al-Dīn Shāghil Aḥmad Us̱mānī, Saḥīfah-yi Khushnivīsān, 2nd. Ed. (New Delhi: Taraqqī-yi Urdū Biyūro, 1987), p. 204-206, Nº 527–528.
Khan Sahib Maulvi Zafar, Specimens of Calligraphy in the Delhi Museum of Archaeology (Calcutta: Gov. of India, 1926), p. 14, Nº 55.

Physical Description

Support: Marbled paper of local manufacture features bisected ochre droplet motifs against a pale pink and gray striated ground.
Dimensions (leaf): 224 × 124 mm.

Condition

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 6 lines. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by either Ḥafiẓ Nūr Allāh or Shaykh Nūr Allāh in Lucknow; undated, but probably late 18th-century CE.

64

Contents

Summary of Contents: Baldeo Singh (fl. mid-late 19th c.) copied this variation on the final lines of Chapter 3 part 11 of the Bustān (Fragrant Orchard) by Sa‘dī Shīrāzī (1193–1292) upon vivid sienna brown marbled paper, likely during Hamilton's Delhi tenure, ca. 1862–1867.
Folio 11a
Author: Sa‘dī Shīrāzī, 1193–1292 سعدی شيرازی
Title: Bustān
Title: بوستان
Scribe: Baldeo Singh, fl. mid-late 19th c.;
Baldīyū Singh;
بلدیو سنگہ
Incipit: (excerpt) یکی روز بر بنده دل بسوخت * که می‌گفت و فرماندهش می‌فروخت | ترا من چو بنده نبقید بسی مرا نتو خواجه نقید کسی
Colophon: کتبه بلدیو سنگہ
Colophon: Baldīyū Singh wrote it

For more on this scribe and his life, see Nº 15. For other examples, Nº 17 and 20.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Predominantly sienna brown, stylised spot-patterned marbled paper
Dimensions (leaf): 284 × 174 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 6 lines. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Baldīyū Singh in Dehli; undated, but probably circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

65

Contents

Summary of Contents: A neatly executed unsigned and unidentified Persian devotional rubā‘ī (quatrain), written in nasta‘līq script, possibly 18th. century.
Folio 12a
Author: Anonymous
Title: Rubā‘ī
Incipit: (excerpt) از بزرگان دین بگویم بسته * اگر آدینه و اگر شنبه | ولیانا بیان الله‌اند * دایم از سرکار آگاه‌اند
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Peach-tinted, cross-grained, paper probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent, with ~22 laid lines per 20 mm.
Dimensions (leaf): 157 × 79 mm.

Condition

In poor but stable condition with extensive looses at top possible due to insects, horizontal breaks, staining, and smudging.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 5 lines. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Indian subcontinent; undated, but possibly 18th century CE.

66

Contents

Summary of Contents: These lines from a Persian ghazal (lyric) poem by Ḥāfiẓ (ca. 1315–1390), styled here as a rubā‘ī (quatrain), bear an dubious signature of Mīr ‘Imād al-Ḥasanī (d. 1615), although it may be copied from an authentic model.
Folio 13a
Author: Ḥāfiẓ, ca. 1315–1390;
حافظ
Dubious author, Autographer and Scribe: al-Ḥasanī, Mīr ‘Imād, ca. 1549–1615);
میر عماد الحسنی
Title: Excerpt from a ghazal
Incipit: (excerpt) یارم چو قدحْ به دست گیرد * بازارِ بُتانْ شکست گیرد | در بحرْ فِتاده‌ام چو ماهی * تا یار مرا به شَست گیرد
Colophon: میر عماد الحسنی (با احتمال جعل شده است)
Colophon: ‘Imād al-Ḥasanī (dubious)
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Straight-grained, pale coffee-brown tinted paper handmade paper, probably manufactured in the Indian subcontinent with ~16 laid lines per 20 mm.
Dimensions (leaf): 150 × 70 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition, with water stains at tope and a vertical mark that may be the result of contact with adhesive.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 6 lines. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Indian subcontinent; undated, but possibly 18th century CE.

67

Contents

Summary of Contents: Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī (1838–1885), son of Jīvanalāla Munshī Rā'ī Bahādur (1806–1884) copied this Persian rubā‘ī (quatrain) from the introduction to the Gulistān (Rose Garden) by Sa‘dī Shīrāzī (1193–1292), with added minuscule lines of the opening couplet and colophon.
Folio 14a
Author: Sa‘dī Shīrāzī, 1193–1292 سعدی شيرازی
Scribe: Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī, 1838–1885;
راجا لال
Title: Excerpt from the Gulistān
Title: گلستان
Incipit: (excerpt) من بندهٔ حضرتِ کریمم * پروردهٔ نعمتِ قدیمم | گر بی هنرم وگر هنرمند * لطف است امیدم از خداوند | از دست و زبان که برآید * کز عُهدهٔ شکرش بدر‌آید
Colophon: فدوی راجالال
Colophon: Fidvī Rājā Lāl

For other examples by this calligrapher, see Nº 9–11, 36, and 68 (following), which reproduces the same poem. For another unsigned version of this quatrain, see Nº 62.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Thin ivory, probably British-manufactured wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 272 × 175 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition. Apparently torn when mounted.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 8 lines. Probably ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but probably circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

68

Contents

Summary of Contents: Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī (1838–1885), son of Jīvanalāla Munshī Rā'ī Bahādur (1806–1884) copied a second version of this Persian rubā‘ī (quatrain) from the introduction to the Gulistān (Rose Garden) by Sa‘dī Shīrāzī (1193–1292), together with Nº 67 above.
Folio 15a
Author: Sa‘dī Shīrāzī, 1193–1292 سعدی شيرازی
Scribe: Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī, 1838–1885;
راجا لال
Title: Excerpt from the Gulistān
Title: گلستان
Incipit: (excerpt) من بندهٔ حضرتِ کریمم * پروردهٔ نعمتِ قدیمم | گر بی هنرم وگر هنرمند * لطف است امیدم از خداوند | از دست و زبان که برآید * کز عُهدهٔ شکرش بدر‌آید
Colophon: فدوی راجالال
Colophon: Fidvī Rājā Lāl

For other examples by this calligrapher, see Nº 9–11, 36, and 67 (above), which reproduces the same poem. For another unsigned version of this quatrain, see Nº 62.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Thin ivory, probably British-manufactured wove paper, possibly coated with lead white primer which since oxidized. paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 196 × 125 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition with oxidation of the ground, smudging and grime.

Layout

Portrait format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 6 lines with the colophon continuing on both sides. Possibly ruled beforehand with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; 1279 AH (1862–1863 CE).

69

Contents

Summary of Contents: This unsigned, bold nasta‘līq script composition embellished with a brilliant gilt ground bears the name and titles of Colonel George William Hamilton (1807–1868).
Folio 16a
Scribe: Anonymous
Editor:
Subject, Honoree, Dedicatee, Addressee and Former owner: George William Hamilton, Colonel, 1807–1868
Title: Persian insignia with the name and titles of Colonel George William Hamilton
Incipit: (excerpt) کرنیل جورج ولیام هملتان صاحب بهادر سی بی صاحب کمشنر بهادر قسمت دهلی
Incipit: (translation) Colonel George William Hamilton, Possesor of Bravery, C. B. Possessor of the Commissioner of Bravery, Dehli District.

Note that this composition includes the abbreviation erroneously ‘C.B.’ which attributes the title of Commander of the Order of the Bath to Hamilton when he actually received the award of Commander of the Star of India (C.S.I.) in late 1867.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Cross-grained, bright white, probably British-made laid paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 198 × 324 mm.
Dimensions (written): 148 × 274 mm.

Condition

In excellent condition.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise, written in 1 oblique column in 3 lines. Unruled.

Hand(s)

Written in minuscule and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

Decoration

Illumination: Lines outlined in minutely scalloped cloudbands against a highly polished solid gilt ground, with exterior border of a chain of quatrefoils and palmettes

Ruling:Interior ruled in green surrounded by red outlined in think black inside a wide gold band, bounded by double thin black and single blue lines. Exterior border

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but probably circa 1867 CE towards the end of Hamilton's tenure there.

70

Contents

Summary of Contents: An unsigned Persian couplet excerpted the opening of the Bustān (Fragrant Orchard) by Sa‘dī Shīrāzī (1193–1292) written in bold nasta‘līq script, surrounded by cloud bands and delicate blue and yellow floral scrollwork. Since the style of decoration closely resembles Nº 49 by Fīz̤ā, it may be by him.
Folio 17a
Author: Sa‘dī Shīrāzī, 1193–1292 سعدی شيرازی
Title: Bustān
Title: بوستان
Incipit: (excerpt) جهانت بکام و فلک یار باد * جهان آفرینت نگهدار باد
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Written on natural ivory coloured probably British-manufactured wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 172 × 250 mm.

Condition

In overall good condition albeit with modest staining.

Layout

Landscpe format, written in 1 column in 2 lines, unruled.

Hand(s)

Written in bold black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but probably 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

71

Contents

Summary of Contents: Delhi master calligrapher Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857) copied the Arabic al-Shahādah (pronounced ‘ash-Shahādah’), the Islamic testament of faith in bold nasta‘līq script in 1271 AH (1854–1855 CE). Further embellished with an elaborate octagonal border, he probably intended it as a formal display piece.
Folio 18a
Editor: Panjah-kash, Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī, d. 1857;
محمد امیر رضوی پنجه کش
Title: al-Shahādah;
الشهادة
Incipit: (excerpt) لا اله الا الله
Incipit: (excerpt) Lā ilāha ilā Allāh
Incipit: (translation) There is no god but God
Colophon: الفقیر محمد امیر رضوی سنه ۱۲۷۱ هجری
Colophon: The poor Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī year 1271 AH (1854–1855 CE)
Language(s): Arabic

Physical Description

Support: Written on natural ivory coloured paper probably in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 118 × 209 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Landscape format, written in 1 oblique column in 2 lines, with the lower one in two registers, then divided when decorated. Unruled.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium- sized black nasta‘līq script.

Decoration

DecorationLines outlined and infilled with floral scrollwork against a muted golden ochre wash ground. Scalloped domes in pale green with interior curtian dividers, surmounted by blue finials, with intervening large red-brown dots at the bases and a row of smaller ochre palmette medallions surmounted by red finials

Ruling: Red-brown octagonal cartouche divides the interior script from the surrounding border

History

Origin: Probably completed by Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857) in Dehli; 1271 AH (1854–1855 CE).

72

Contents

Summary of Contents: Raḥmat ‘Alī, a student of prominent Delhi calligrapher Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857), as per Nº 57, copied, this unidentified Persian dūbayt (couplet) which warns against seeking faults in others.
Folio 19a
Author: Anonymous
Title: Dūbayt
دوبیت Persian couplet
Scribe: Raḥmat ‘Alī;
رحمت علی
Incipit: بندہ عیب دار کس نخرد * تو بصد عیب‌ها خرید مرا
Colophon: بندہ رحمت علی
Colophon: The servant Raḥmat ‘Alī.

For other examples by this scribe, see Nº 40, 44, and 57 above.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Natural ivory coloured, externally sized and polished handmade paper manufactured in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 134 × 216 mm.

Condition

In overall good condition, albeit with one horizontal smudge.

Layout

Landscape format, written in 1 column in 3 lines, unruled.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized red nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

Acc. 2023/72 Vol. V

Volume V contains eighteen calligraphy specimens, Nos. 73-90.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: 19 folios 6 flyleaves (ff. iii + 19 + iii) .
Dimensions (leaf): 526 × 362 mm.

Binding

540 × 408 × 71 mm.

Handle binding with condition. In good, stable condition, with slight abrasion to the exteriors and board edges.

73

Contents

Summary of Contents: This unsigned Persian couplet quotes a hemistich attributed by Mīrzā Sanglākh Khurāsānī to calligrapher Abū al-Qāsim Mashhadī, followed by another variant line.
Folio 2a
Author: Abū al-Qāsim Mashhadī;
ابو القاسم مشهدى
Title: Dūbayt
دوبیت Persian couplet
Incipit: (excerpt) تا جهان است در جهان باشی * فيض‌بخش جهانیان باشی

Possibly ‘Ibād Allāh given the same paper? Sanglilākh Khurāsānī reports the first line as that of Abū al-Qāsim Mashhadī, but the second line differs.

Language(s): Persian
Sanglākh Khurāsānī, Tadhkirat al-Khatṭāṭīn, al-musammā bi-kitāb Imtihạ̄n al-Fuz̤alā (s.l., n. n., 1288–1295 AH [1871–1878 CE])

Physical Description

Support: Probably British-manufactured, machine-made pink wove.
Dimensions (leaf): 130 × 218 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with moderate adhesive migration stains and what may be touch-ups added when mounted.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

74

Contents

Summary of Contents: Delhi calligrapher ‘Ibād Allāh Bayg I‘jāz Raqam Khān (fl. mid-late 19th c) copied this excerpt from a Persian ghazal (lyric) poem by ‘Abd al-Qādir Bīdil (ca. 1644–1721) in 1275 AH (1858–1859 CE). A principal student of Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857), praised by his teacher in turn, Ghulām Muḥammad Haft Qalamī Dihlavī (d. ca. 1823–1824).
Folio 3a
Author: Bīdil, ‘Abd al-Qādir, ca. ca. 1644–1721;
بيدل، عبد القادر
Title: Excerpt from a ghazal
Author: Bīdil
Editor: I‘jāz Raqam Khān, ‘Ibād Allāh Bayg, fl. mid-late 19th c.;
عباد الله بیگ عجاز رقم خان
Incipit: (excerpt) سرنوشت ما بدست خود نوشت * خوش نويس است او نخواهد بد نوشت
Colophon: مشقه عباد الله سنه ۱۲۷۵
Colophon: ‘Ibād Allāh drafted it, year 1275 AH (1858–1859 CE)

For another specimen by this calligrapher, see Nº 58.

Language(s): Persian

References

Ghulām Muḥammad Haft Qalamī Dihlavī, The Tadhkira-i Khushnavīsān of Mawlānā G̲h̲ulām Muḥammad Dihlavī, ed. M. Hidayet Husain, Bibliotheca Indica, Nº 1233 (Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1910), p. 73.
Muḥammad Ayyūb Qādirī, 'Fann-i khaṭāṭī kā ayk nādir ẕakhīrah'. The proceedings of the Pakistan History Conference (ninth session): Held at Hyderabad, under the auspices of the Pakistan Historical Society, 1959 (Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society, 1962), p. 381.
Khan Sahib Maulvi Zafar, Specimens of Calligraphy in the Delhi Museum of Archaeology (Calcutta: Gov. of India, 1926), p. 16, Nº 73..

Physical Description

Support: British-manufactured, machine-made, pale pink-tinted wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 109 × 173 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with moderate grime and smudged ink.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Unruled.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by ‘Ibād Allāh Bayg I‘jāz Raqam Khān (fl. mid-late 19th c) Dehli; in 1275 AH (1858–1859 CE).

75

Contents

Summary of Contents: This unsigned composition features an unidentified Persian panegyric dūbayt (couplet). Roughly a decade later, Munshī Muḥammad Pādīshāh Shād (fl. 1878–1888), including these lines in his voluminous compilation of Persian idioms entitled Majmu‘ah-'i Mutaradifāt (Anthology of Similes) completed at the behest of his patron, Maharajah of Vizianagaram, Anand Gajapathi III (1850 – 1897).
Folio 4a
Author: Anonymous
Title: Dūbayt
دوبیت Persian couplet
Incipit: (excerpt) عمرت دراز باد که تا دور مشتری * ما از تو بر خوریم تو از عمر بر خوری
Language(s): Persian

References

Muḥammad Pādshāh Shād, Majmu‘ah-'i Mutaradifāt (Benares: Medical Hall Press, 1878) p. 262.

Physical Description

Support: Orange-tinted paper, with 22 laid lines per 20 mm, lined on the reverse.
Dimensions (leaf): 172 × 228 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition wth modest creasing and staining.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

76

Contents

Summary of Contents: An unsigned, unidentified ornate Persian prose composition, the condition of which suggests Hamilton acquired it during his Delhi tenure.
Folio 5a
Author: Anonymous
Title: Excerpt of Persian prose
Incipit: (excerpt) قدردان هنر بفیض عمیم
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Probably British-made, orange-tinted wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 145 × 310 mm.

Condition

In overally faily good condition with minor stains.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

77

Contents

Summary of Contents: Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī (1838–1885), son of Jīvanalāla Munshī Rā'ī Bahādur (1806–1884) copied this variant of a Persian dūbayt (couplet) in 1861. Although found in later manuscripts of Book Three of the Mas̱navī-yi Ma‘navī by Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī (1207-1273), although it does not appear in the earliest copies or critical editions.
Folio 6a
Author and Dubious author: Rūmī, Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad bin Muḥammad Bahāʾ al-Dīn Valad Balkhī, 1207-1273;
جلال الدین محمد رومی بن محمد بهاء الدین ولد بلخی
Scribe: Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī, 1838–1885;
راجا لال
Title: Excerpt from the Mas̲navī-i Maʻnavī
Title: مثنوى معنوى
Incipit: (excerpt) خواجه می‌داند که روزی ده دهد *‌ این نمی‌داند که روزی ده دهد
Colophon: ذرهٔ بیمقدار راجالال
Colophon: Rājā Lāl, year 1861 ‘Īsavī

For other examples by this calligrapher see Nº 9–11, 18, and 68.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Heavily sized and polished paper, possibly produced in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 120 × 215 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition with extensive stains at left, foxing, migratory adhesive strike-through, and smudged ink.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī (1838–1885) in Dehli; circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

78

Contents

Summary of Contents: Unsigned excerpt from the Bustān (Fragrant Orchard) by Sa‘dī Shīrāzī (1193–1292), evidently given to Hamilton in celebration of an event, given the colophon.
Folio 7a
Author: Sa‘dī Shīrāzī, 1193–1292 سعدی شيرازی
Title: Bustān
Title: بوستان
Incipit: (excerpt) جهانت بکام و فلک یار باد * جهان آفرینت نگهدار باد
Colophon: روز کلان مبارک باد
Colophon: May the great day be blessed.
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Heavily sized and polished paper, possibly produced in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 159 × 247 mm.

Condition

In good condition, albeit very modestly foxed

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script. Unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

79

Contents

Summary of Contents: A calligrapher who signs his epithet as simply ‘Shīrīn Raqam’ (Sweet-writing), copied this bold nasta‘līq script composition features an Arabic excerpt from the Qur'ān 61:12, Sūrat al-Ṣaff (The Ranks), verse 12 in 1273 AH (1856–1857 CE)
Folio 8a
Title: Qur'ān 61:12, Sūrat al-Ṣaff (The Ranks), verse 12.
Editor: Shīrīn Raqam;
شیرین رقم
Incipit: (excerpt) نصر من الله وفتح قريب
Colophon: شیرین رقم غفر له سنه ۱۲۷۳ هجری ص
Colophon: Shīrīn Raqam forgive him, year 1273 AH (1856–1857 CE).

The date indicates he cannot be the same calligrapher as ‘Ubaydallāh Shīrīn Raqam (fl. ca. 1717–1751), who copied Nº 48. Possibly the nom-de-plume of Munshī Wājid ‘Alī Khān who worked at Nawal Kishore in Lucknow.

Language(s): Arabic

Physical Description

Support: Heavily sized and polished straw-coloured paper, probably produced in the Indian subcontinent. Mounted on bisected droplet motif marbled paper margins.
Dimensions (leaf): 216 × 328 mm.
Dimensions (written): 133 × 245 mm.

Condition

In good condition with minor surface abrasion.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Possibly completed in Dehli; 1273 AH (1856–1857 CE)

80

Contents

Summary of Contents: Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857) copied this Arabic basmala, the opening invocation of the Qur'an in 1271 AH (1854–1855 CE).
Folio 9a
Title: Basmala;
بسمله
Editor: Panjah-kash, Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī, d. 1857;
محمد امیر رضوی پنجه کش
Incipit: (excerpt) بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Colophon: فقير محمد امير رضوي ١٢٧١
Colophon: Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī 1271 AH (1854–1855 CE) .

For more on this calligrapher, see Nº 55 for other specimens, see Nº 71, and 72.

Language(s): Arabic

Physical Description

Support: Heavily sized and polished straw-coloured paper, probably produced in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 111 × 312 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with minor foxing and smudging.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Unruled.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857) in Dehli; undated, but possibly 1271 AH (1854–1855 CE)

81

Contents

Summary of Contents: Unsigned Arabic basmala, the opening invocation of the Qur'an.
Folio 10a
Title: Basmala
Incipit: (excerpt) بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Language(s): Arabic

Physical Description

Support: Heavily sized and polished straw-coloured laid paper, 16 laid lines per 20 mm, probably produced in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 183 × 298 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with minor foxing and smudging.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Unruled.

Hand(s)

Written in bold, large black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

82

Contents

Summary of Contents: Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857) copied this Hindustani devotional idiom in 1273 AH (1856–1857 CE), aged 95.
Folio 11a
Title: Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857) copied this Hindustani devotional idiom.
Editor: Panjah-kash, Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī, d. 1857;
محمد امیر رضوی پنجه کش
Incipit: (excerpt) سبحان تیری قدرت
Colophon: Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī 1273 AH (1856–1857 CE), ‘in his 95th year’.
Language(s): Hindustani (Urdu)

Physical Description

Support: Heavily sized and polished Green-tinted paper, probably produced in the Indian subcontinent, with 18 laid lines per 20 mm.
Dimensions (leaf): 126 × 258 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857) in Dehli; 1273 AH (1856–1857 CE).

83

Contents

Summary of Contents: Excerpt from a ghazal (lyric) poem by Vaḥshī Bāfqī (ca. 1532–1583) copied by Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash (d. 1857) in 1272 AH (1855–1856 CE). He apparently selected the green paper to evoke mention leaves in the first hemistich.
Folio 12a
Author: Vaḥshī Bāfiqī, d. 991/1583;
وحشی بافقی
Title: Excerpt from a ghazal
Editor: Panjah-kash, Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī, d. 1857;
محمد امیر رضوی پنجه کش
Incipit: (excerpt) برگ سبزیست تحفههٔ درویش * چه کند بینوا همین دارد
Colophon: فقیر محمد امیر رضوی
Colophon: The poor Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī 1272 AH (1855–1856 CE).
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Heavily sized and polished paper, possibly produced in the Indian subcontinent. Possibly coloured with a screen or stencil after completion, then signed. Very unusual. Note the discernible white gap at top and with fuzzy, reticulated edges.
Dimensions (leaf): 142 × 263 mm.

Condition

In good condition.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Muḥammad Amīr Raz̤avī Panjah-kash in Dehli; 1272 AH (1855–1856 CE).

84

Contents

Summary of Contents: An undocumented calligrapher named Muḥammad Fakhr al-Dīn copied this excerpt from the Gulistān by Sa‘dī Shīrāzī (1193–1292) in 1276 AH (1859–1860).
Folio 13a
Author: Sa‘dī Shīrāzī, 1193–1292 سعدی شيرازی
Title: Gulistān
Title: گلستان
Scribe: Muḥammad Fakhr al-Dīn;
محمد فخر الدي
Incipit: (excerpt) گر بر سر و چشمِ ما نشینی * نازت بکشم که نازنینی
Colophon: مشقه فقير محمد فخر الدين غفر له سنه ١٢٧٦
Colophon: The poor Muḥammad Fakhr al-Dīn drafted it, 1276 AH (1859–1860).

While undocumented as a calligrapher, ‘Abd al-Ghafūr Nassākh (1834–1889) notes two contemporary poets by that name in his Sukhan-i Shu‘arā (Speech of Poets) completed 1281 AH (1864–1865 CE), see M. Garcin de Tassy translation.

Garcin de Tassy, La Langue et la littérature hindoustanies en 1876: Revue Annuale (Paris: p. 151–152
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Heavily sized and polished paper bright green-tinted handmade paper, probably produced in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 156 × 237 mm.

Condition

In good condition with minor surface abrasion and staining.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script. Unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; 1276 AH (1859–1860).

85

Contents

Summary of Contents: Mahtāb Rā'ī copied this Persian panegyric dūbayt (couplet) in bold shikastah (broken) script, and possibly also authored it.
Folio 14a
Author and Scribe: Mahtāb Rā'ī; مہتاب رای
Title: Dūbayt
دوبیت Persian couplet
Incipit: (excerpt) الهی این سال خجسته تاب بصاحبزاد * سعادت حضارت فرخنده و همایونی باد
Colophon: كتبه العبد مہتاب رای عفی عنه
Colophon: Mahtāb Rā'ī

He may be the same man as reported by Storey, Nº 620, Mahtāb Rāī Pandit 'Miskīn', who authored the Nawādir al-Majāmi‘ (Rarities of Compilations) a collection of ornate prose compositions and epistolography, who describes himself as a pupil of Pandit Lac̲h̲hmī Rām, probably the author of that name from Delhi who died in 1233 AH (1817–1818).

C. A. Storey, Persian Literature: A Bio-bibliographical Survey, Vol. III, Pt. 2 (London: Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1990), no. 620.
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Heavily sized and polished, cross-grained, naturally buff-coloured handmade paper, probably produced in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 159 × 212 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition albeit minimally stained, foxed, and ink smudged.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black shikastah script. Unruled.

History

Origin: Possibly completed by Mahtāb Rā'ī in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

86

Contents

Summary of Contents: The first of two examples, with Nº 87, of a Persian panegyric dūbayt (couplet), which while unsigned, appears very likely copied, if not authored, by Mīrzā Muḥammad ‘Abd al-Qādir, who signed the second instance.
Folio 15a
Author and Scribe: Mīrzā Muḥammad ‘Abd al-Qādir;
ميرزا محمد عبد القادر
Incipit: (excerpt) تا تاج حیات بر سر خضر بود در خانهٔ اقبال سکنر باشی
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Probably British-manufactured, machine-made, toothy white wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 165 × 212 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition with stains, surface grime, and smudged ink, likely from when mounted.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

87

Contents

Summary of Contents: The second of two examples, with Nº 86, of a Persian panegyric dūbayt (couplet), copied, if not authored, by Mīrzā Muḥammad ‘Abd al-Qādir.
Folio 16a
Author, Scribe and Autographer: Mīrzā Muḥammad ‘Abd al-Qādir;
ميرزا محمد عبد القادر
Incipit: (excerpt) تا تاج حیات بر سر خضر بود در خانهٔ اقبال سکنر باشی
Colophon: میرزا محمد عبد القادر نبیره نواب اکبرآبادی بیگم صاحبه مرخمه بنت حضرت شاه عالم بادشاه مغفور
Colophon: Mīrzā Muḥammad ‘Abd al-Qādir

Mīrzā Muḥammad ‘Abd al-Qādir grandson of Akbarābādī Baygam Ṣāhibah (d. 1859), companion to the daughter of Shāh ‘Ālam II (b. 1728, r. 1759–1806).

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Probably British-manufactured, machine-made, toothy white wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 156 × 215 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition with stains, surface grime, and smudged ink, likely from when mounted.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Mīrzā Muḥammad ‘Abd al-Qādir in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

88

Contents

Summary of Contents: A hemistich ascribed to Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī (ca. 1253–1325), which albeit unsigned, appears likely copied by Mīrzā Muḥammad ‘Abd al-Qādir.
Folio 17a
Author: Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī, ca. 1253–1325;
امیر خسرو دهلوی
Scribe: Mīrzā Muḥammad ‘Abd al-Qādir;
ميرزا محمد عبد القادر
Title: Excerpt of a ghazal
Incipit: (transcription) آنچه خوبان همه دارند تنها داری
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Probably British-manufactured, machine-made gray paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 98 × 191 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with minimal discolouration.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

89

Contents

Summary of Contents: Aḥmad Yār Bayg Khān copied this excerpt of a dūbayt (couplet) in a highly expressive, novel South Asian-style of naskh script by Sa‘dī Shīrāzī (1193–1292) 1271 AH (1854–1855 CE).
Folio 18a
Author: Sa‘dī Shīrāzī, 1193–1292 سعدی شيرازی
Scribe: Aḥmad Yār Bayg Khān;
احمد يار بيگ خان
Title: Excerpt from a short mas̱navī
Editor: Aḥmad Yār Bayg Khān;
احمد يار بيگ حان
Incipit: (excerpt) من آن مورم که در پایم بمالند * نه زنبورم که از دستم بنالند *‌ نه زنبورم که از دستم بنالند | کجا خود شکر این نعمت گزارم * که زور مردم آزاری ندارم
Colophon: مشقه العبد المذنب راجی الرحمة احمد يار بيگخان عفی عنه سنه ۱۲۸۱ هجری
Colophon: The sinful servant Aḥmad Yār Bayg Khān, in need of mercy, drafted it, forgive him, 1271 AH (1854–1855 CE).
Language(s): Persian

References

For another undated thuluth specimen by this calligrapher, see New Delhi, National Museum, Manuscript Nº 83.387.
Muḥammad Ayyūb Qādirī, 'Fann-i khaṭāṭī kā ayk nādir ẕakhīrah'. The proceedings of the Pakistan History Conference (ninth session): Held at Hyderabad, under the auspices of the Pakistan Historical Society, 1959 (Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society, 1962), p. 390

Physical Description

Support: Unevenly formed pink-tinted handmade paper, lined on the back side with another white sheet, both probably manufactured in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 215 × 254 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition albeit creased and darkened with smudged ink.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold black and and medium-sized blue thuluth scripts, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Aḥmad Yār Bayg Khān in Dehli; 1271 AH (1854–1855 CE).

90

Contents

Summary of Contents: This unsigned Persian couplet quotes a hemistich attributed to calligrapher Mīrzā Abū al-Qāsim Mashhadī, followed by another alternative one. The hand and paper closely resemble Nº 74, completed by ‘Ibād Allāh Bayg I‘jāz Raqam Khān (fl. mid-late 19th c).
Folio 19a
Author: Abū al-Qāsim Mashhadī, fl. early 19th c.;
میرزا ابو القاسم مشهدی
Editor: I‘jāz Raqam Khān, ‘Ibād Allāh Bayg, fl. mid-late 19th c.;
عباد الله بیگ عجاز رقم خان
Title: Dūbayt
دوبیت
Incipit: (excerpt) تا جهان است در جهان باشی * فيض‌بخش جهانیان باشی
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Probably British-manufactured, machine-made pink wove.
Dimensions (leaf): 75 × 102 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with minor creasing, foxing, and staining.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

Acc. 2023/72 Vol. VI

Volume VI, the last of the set, contains seventeen calligraphy specimens, Nos. 91-107.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: 18 folios 6 flyleaves (ff. iii + 18 + iii) .

Binding

Handle binding with condition. In good, stable condition, with slight abrasion to the exteriors and board edges.

91

Contents

Summary of Contents: Mahtāb Rā'ī copied this Persian aphorism in bold shikastah (broken) script.
Folio 2a
Author and Scribe: Mahtāb Rā'ī; مہتاب رای
Title: Persian aphorism
Incipit: (excerpt) وفای مظهر الحسنات نوشته با صحبت * و تندرستی در آمدن و خفاظین داراد(؟)
Colophon: حرره مهتاب رای
Colophon: Mahtāb Rā'ī wrote it

For another specimen on this calligrapher, and his potential identity, see Nº 85.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Heavily sized and polished, cross-grained, naturally buff-coloured handmade paper, probably produced in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 203 × 505 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition with some slight insect damage, creases, stains, and marks.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black shikastah script. Unruled.

History

Origin: Possibly completed by Mahtāb Rā'ī in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

92

Contents

Summary of Contents: ‘Ibād Allāh Bayg I‘jāz Raqam Khān (fl. mid-late 19th c) not only copied, but also probably composed this original Persian panegyric poem in Hamilton's honour.
Folio 3a
Author and Scribe: I‘jāz Raqam Khān, ‘Ibād Allāh Bayg, fl. mid-late 19th c.;
عباد الله بیگ عجاز رقم خان
Title: Dūbayt
دوبیت
Incipit: (excerpt) بر در گهرت ای سپهر جاه آمده‌ام * در سایه ات از بهر پناه آمده ام 
Colophon: ذره بیمقدار عباد الله بیگ غفر الله ذنوبه ستر عيوبه عیوبه
Colophon: An insignificant speck, ‘Ibād Allāh Bayg God forgive his sins and veil his faults.

For two other specimens by this calligrapher, see Nº 58 and 74.

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: British-manufactured, machine-made, naturally cream coloured wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 188 × 293 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition with migratory glue stains and smudges.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but probably circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

93

Contents

Summary of Contents: The first of three unsigned, bold Arabic compositions in large nasta‘līq script by the same hand written on similar papers. This example features an excerpt from Qur'an 2:137 Sūrat al-Baqarah (Chapter of the Cow), verse 137.
Folio 4a
Title: Excerpt from Sūrat al-Baqarah, Verse 137
Incipit: (excerpt) فيكيفكهم من الله
Language(s): Arabic

Physical Description

Support: Heavily sized and polished, cross-grained, naturally buff-coloured handmade paper, probably produced in the Indian subcontinent, with ~16 laid lines per 20 mm.
Dimensions (leaf): 215 × 295 mm.

Condition

In fairly good but stable condition with a prominent stain to the right.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold black nasta‘līq script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Indian subcontinent undated, but possibly 19th century, but before 1867 CE when Hamilton departed India.

94

Contents

Summary of Contents: The second of three unsigned Arabic compositions in bold nasta‘līq script by the same hand and written on similar papers, this one features a devotional idiom that translates as 'there is nothing in my heart other than God'.
Folio 5a
Title: Arabic devotional idiom
Incipit: (excerpt) ما في قلبي غير الله
Language(s): Arabic

Physical Description

Support: Heavily sized and polished, cross-grained, naturally buff-coloured handmade paper, probably produced in the Indian subcontinent, with ~16 laid lines per 20 mm.
Dimensions (leaf): 175 × 305 mm.

Condition

In good condition. Some modest foxing.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold black nasta‘līq script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Indian subcontinent undated, but possibly 19th century, but before 1867 CE when Hamilton departed India.

95

Contents

Summary of Contents: The third of three unsigned bold Arabic compositions in nasta‘līq script by the same hand written on similar papers, this one features the prayer 'Glory to God'.
Folio 6a
Title: Arabic prayer
Incipit: (excerpt) سبحان الله
Language(s): Arabic

Physical Description

Support: Heavily sized and polished, cross-grained, naturally buff-coloured handmade paper, probably produced in the Indian subcontinent, with ~16 laid lines per 20 mm.
Dimensions (leaf): 173 × 318 mm.

Condition

In faily good condition with modest foxing and stains at left.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Indian subcontinent undated, but possibly 19th century, but before 1867 CE when Hamilton departed India.

96

Contents

Summary of Contents: The first of four specimens, here in bold nasta‘līq script, signed by Amal Singh, an unidentified calligrapher who evidently worked in Delhi during Hamilton's tenure.
Folio 7a
Title: Munajāt
Scribe and Autographer: Āmāl Singh;
امال سنگہ
Incipit: (excerpt) الهی در جهان باشی با قبال
Colophon: بندهٔ امال سنگہ سنه ۱۸۶۴ ع
Colophon: The servant Āmāl Singh.
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: British-made, ivory-coloured wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 110 × 197 mm.

Condition

In fair but stablec condition with surface grime.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold nasta‘līq script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Āmāl Singh in Dehli; undated, but probably circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

97

Contents

Summary of Contents: Calligrapher named ‘Rashk Lāl’ signed this Persian micrographic floral ghubār (dust) script composition at centre-bottom. He served as administrator to Maharao Raja Shri Sawai Sheodan Singhji Bahadur (b. 1845, r. 1857–1874) in Alwar, then afterwards for the British Raj government.
Folio 8a
Scribe: Munshī Rashk Lāl, fl. mid-to-late-19th c; منشی رشک لال
Title: Persian micrographic calligraphy flower
Colophon: Rashk Lāl
Language(s): Persian
See Jvāla Sahāʼe, Vaqāʼiʿ-i Rājpūtānah, Vol. 2 (Agra: Mat̤baʻ Mufīd-i ʻĀmm, 1296 AH [1878–1879 CE]), pp. 391 and 466.

Physical Description

Support: Minimally sized and polished, straight-grained, naturally cream-coloured handmade paper, probably produced in the Indian subcontinent.
Dimensions (leaf): 290 × 120 mm.

Condition

In fairly good, stable condition despite moderate surface grime, stains, smudged ink.

Layout

format.

Hand(s)

Written in micrographic black ghubār script, unruled.

History

Origin: Possibly completed by Rashk Lāl in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

98

Contents

Summary of Contents: The first of two unsigned, colourful South Asian-style ṭuhgrā (insignia) style compositions, together with Nº 99, in bold naskh script, this one of an unidentified Persian poem in the form of a gulābdān (rosewater dispenser). Unsigned, but probably written by Faz̤l Shāh, who completed Nº 100, due to similar.
Folio 9a
Scribe: Fāz̤il Shāh;
فضل شاه
Title: Gulābdān-shaped Persian Ṭughrā composition
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: British-manufactured, machine-made, naturally cream coloured wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 287 × 172 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with moderate surface grime, foxing, and limited migratory adhesive stains.

Layout

Portrait format.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and medium-sized black nasta‘līq script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

99

Contents

Summary of Contents: The second of two unsigned, colourful South Asian-style ṭuhgrā (insignia) style compositions, together with Nº 98, in bold naskh script, features Qur'ān 7:158, Surāt al-ʾAʿrāf, verse 158, in the form of flower. Unsigned, but probably by Faz̤l Shāh, who completed Nº 100.
Folio 10a
Scribe: Fāz̤il Shāh;
فضل شاه
Title: Surāt al-ʾAʿrāf, verse 158
Incipit: (transcription) قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا الَّذِي لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۖ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ ۖ فَآمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ النَّبِيِّ الْأُمِّيِّ الَّذِي يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَكَلِمَاتِهِ وَاتَّبِعُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ
Language(s): Arabic

Physical Description

Support: British-manufactured, machine-made, naturally cream coloured wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 278 × 177 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with moderate surface grime, foxing, and limited migratory adhesive strike-though.

Layout

Portrait format.

Hand(s)

Written in bold naskh script as a South Asian ṭughrā (insignia) composition, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

100

Contents

Summary of Contents: This colourful South Asian-style mus̱annà (doubled) reflecting composition in partially seriffed thuluth (one-third) script, signed by an undocumented calligrapher named Fāz̤il Shāh at top-left, features a basmala in the other corners, and the name of the Prophet Muḥammad written four times in a ring, in a clever manner that collocates the repeated letter mīm, which can be read as both the start and middle of the name.
Folio 11a
Scribe: Fāz̤il Shāh;
فضل شاه
Incipit: (excerpt) بسم الله الرحم الرحيم. محمد
Colophon: محرر فضل شاه
Colophon: Written by Fāz̤il Shāh.
Language(s): Arabic

Physical Description

Support: Possibly written on likely British-made, ivory-coloured laid paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 260 × 260 mm.

Condition

In fair but stable condition with extensive creases, stains, marks, and losses at the corners.

Layout

Portrait format.

Hand(s)

Written in bold black, partially seriffed thuluth script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Fāz̤il Shāh in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

101

Contents

Summary of Contents: This colourful South Asian-style compositon combines both mus̱annà (doubled) reflecting and ṭughrā (insignia) styles executed in bold black nashkh, signed by Muḥammad ‘Alī in 1273 AH (1856–1857 CE). It features a central emblem that combines the names of God and the Ahl al-Bayt (Prophet's household): the Prophet Muḥammad, his daughter Fāṭimah al-Zahrah, her husband ʻAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, and their two sons Ḥasan and Ḥusayn. Surrounding elongated radiating finials contain mirrored mus̱annà invocations of two Divine Names of God, ‘Yā Ḥaqq’ (O Truth!) and ‘Yā Ghanī’ (O Self-sustaining!).
Folio 12a
Title: Mus̱annà
Language(s): Persian

Not the same calligrapher as the late 18th-century Lucknow master Mīrzā Muḥammad ‘Alī bin Mīrzā Khayr Allāh Ṭughrā-navīs, who completed John Rylands Library Persian MS 10.

Physical Description

Support: British-manufactured, machine-made, naturally cream coloured wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 270 × 263 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with moderate surface grime, foxing, smudged ink, and limited migratory adhesive strike-though.

Layout

Portrait format.

Hand(s)

Written in bold and black naskh script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

102

Contents

Summary of Contents: The second of four specimens signed by calligrapher Āmāl Singh, who completed this highly ornate millefleur-style gulzār (rose-garden) script composition featuring Hamilton's name and titles completed in 1864.
Folio 13a
Title: Persian insignia with the name and titles of Colonel George William Hamilton
Scribe and Autographer: Āmāl Singh;
امال سنگہ
Subject, Honoree, Dedicatee, Addressee and Former owner: George William Hamilton, Colonel, 1807–1868
Incipit: (transcription) قدردان قیصریان سلامته خداوند و نعمت کرنیل جارج ولیم هملٹن صاحب بهادر
Colophon: بندهٔ امال سنگہ سنه ۱۸۶۴ ع
Colophon: The servant Āmāl Singh, year 1864 AD.
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: British-made, ivory-coloured wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 394 × 286 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with a conspicuous vertical crease, moderate surface grime, and smudged ink.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º

Hand(s)

Written in bold millflor gulzār (rose-garden) script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Āmāl Singh in Dehli; 1864 CE

103

Contents

Summary of Contents: The third of four specimens, signed but undated, by calligrapher Āmāl Singh, who completed this highly ornate millefleur-style gulzār (rose-garden) script composition with a second hemistich in nasta‘līq featuring an excerpt from a ghazal (lyric) poem by Badr al-Dīn Hilālī (d. ca. 1528).
Folio 14a
Author: Hilālī, Badr al-Dīn, d. ca. 1528;
هلالى، بدر الدين
Scribe and Autographer: Āmāl Singh;
امال سنگہ
Incipit: (transcription) گل اقبال تو دایم شگفته *‌ شاهان چه عجب گر بنوازند گدا
Colophon: بندهٔ امال سنگہ
Colophon: The servant Āmāl Singh.
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: British-made, ivory-coloured wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 185 × 280 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with moderate surface grime, slight foxing, smudged ink, and limited migratory adhesive strike-though.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold gulzār script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Āmāl Singh in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

104

Contents

Summary of Contents: The first of three unsigned nākhūnī (fingernail) compositions, this one features an excerpt of a ghazal (lyric) poem by Badr al-Dīn Hilālī (d. ca. 1528).
Folio 15a
Author: Hilālī, Badr al-Dīn, d. ca. 1528;
هلالى، بدر الدين
Scribe: Anonymous
Incipit: (transcription) شاهان چه عجب گر بنوازند گدا
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: Executed on British-made laid.
Dimensions (leaf): 90 × 280 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with moderate surface grime.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold nakhuni script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

105

Contents

Summary of Contents: The fourth of four specimens, signed but undated, by calligrapher Āmāl Singh, who completed this highly ornate millefleur-style gulzār (rose-garden) script composition with a second hemistich in nasta‘līq features a variant excerpt from a ghazal (lyric) poem by Badr al-Dīn Hilālī (d. ca. 1528).
Folio 16a
Author: Hilālī, Badr al-Dīn, d. ca. 1528;
هلالى، بدر الدين
Scribe and Autographer: Āmāl Singh;
امال سنگہ
Incipit: (transcription) گل اقبال تو دایم شگفته * آنچه خوبان همه دارند تنها داری
Colophon: بندهٔ امال سنگہ
Colophon: The servant Āmāl Singh.
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: British-made, ivory-coloured wove paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 181 × 281 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with moderate surface grime.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold gulzār and medium nasta‘līq scripts, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed by Āmāl Singh in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

106

Contents

Summary of Contents: The second of three unsigned nākhūnī (fingernail) compositions, this one featuring Hamilton's name and titles.
Folio 17a
Scribe: Anonymous
Subject, Honoree, Dedicatee, Addressee and Former owner: George William Hamilton, Colonel, 1807–1868
Title: Persian insignia with the name and titles of Colonel George William Hamilton
Incipit: (transcription) قدردان قیصریان سلامته خداوند و نعمت کرنیل جارج ولیم هملٹن صاحب بهادر
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: British-made cream-coloured laid paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 146 × 236 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with moderate surface grime.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.

Hand(s)

Written in bold nakhuni script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

107

Contents

Summary of Contents: The third of three unsigned nākhūnī (fingernail) compositions, and the last in the collection, features a couplet from a panegyric mas̱navī (couplet) poem by Fayz̤ī Kāshānī (1597–1680) that celebrates the conquest of Gujarat by the Mugahl Emperor Akbar in 1577.
Folio 18a
Author: Fayz̤ Kāshānī, Mullā Muḥsin Muḥammad ibn Shāh Murtaz̤á, 1597–1680;
فیض کاشانی، ملامحسن محمد بن شاه مرتضی
Title: Excerpt of a panegyric mas̱navī
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Support: British-made cream-coloured laid paper.
Dimensions (leaf): 418 × 109 mm.

Condition

In fairly good condition with creases, moderate surface grime, and slight foxing.

Layout

Landscape format, rotated 90º

Hand(s)

Written in bold nakhuni script, unruled.

History

Origin: Probably completed in Dehli; undated, but possibly circa 1862–1867 CE during Hamilton's tenure there.

Additional Information

Record Sources

Bibliographical description by Jake Benson in 2025 with reference to the volumes in hand.

Availability

To book an in-person or online appointment to consult the manuscript, visit . For any other enquiries please email archives@wigan.gov.uk

Custodial History

Volumes III and VI exhibited in The Nature of Gothic: : Reflecting the Natural World in Historic and Contemporary Artistic Practice at the Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery, Cambridge in 2025.

Digital Images

Wigan Council Archives Online (full digital facsimile)

Bibliography

    John Rylands Library Persian MS 998.
    Jake Benson, 'Specimens of Oriental Penmanship in the Borough of Wigan: The Calligraphy Collection of Colonel George William Hamilton (1807–1868)' Persian Manuscripts in Britain (forthcoming, 2026).
    Jake Benson and Christopher Bahl, 'Colonel George William Hamilton (1807–1868): Collecting Manuscripts in Nineteenth-Century South Asia.' (forthcoming, 2026).

Funding of Cataloguing

The Soudavar Memorial Foundation

Subjects

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