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Country of Origin: Isfahan
Persia
JBOC Comments:
Auction Catalogue Description:
ARTS
OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD
SALE L05220 LOT 25
SESSION 1 | 27 Apr 05 10:30 AM.
London, New Bond Street
PORTRAIT OF AMR SINGH OF MEWAR, ATTRIBUTED IN THE
HAND OF THE EMPEROR JAHANGIR TO THE ARTIST BISHIN
DAS AND DATED A.H. 1034/A.D. 1624, VERSO WITH
CALLIGRAPHIC PANEL SIGNED BY MIR 'ALI, IRAN, 16TH
CENTURY, MUGHAL, INDIA,
CIRCA 1645-50
AN IMPORTANT ILLUSTRATED LEAF FROM THE LATE SHAH
JAHAN ALBUM
40,000—60,000 GBP
Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium:
108,000 GBP
MEASUREMENTS
measurements note
panels 23.5 by 16.5 and 14cm. leaf 38.5 by
27.5cm.
DESCRIPTION
gouache heightened with gold on paper, the recto
with central portrait on mint-green ground,
bordered by alternating bands of foliate motifs
and cloud scrolls in black against a gold ground,
within plain gold outer border, on buff leaf
painted with seven figures and floral sprays in
gold, verso with 5 lines of elegant black
nasta'liq calligraphy signed by Mir 'Ali, in
cloud bands reserved on gold with scrolling
foliate motif in colours, margins with floral
sprays in colours highlighted with gold
PROVENANCE
From an American private collection
CATALOGUE NOTE
This leaf is derived from the so-called
"Late Shah Jahan" album, a significant
collection of poetry and portraits, leaves from
which give a unique insight into contemporary
Mughal politics and artistic traditions. The
album is thought to have been taken as booty from
Delhi by Nadir Shah in 1739. From the Persian
imperial collection, during the nineteenth
century, around a hundred leaves from the album
made their way to Paris via Russia and the hands
of an Armenian dealer, where they were dispersed
in the early twentieth century by Demotte. The
album title is derived from the period in which
it was compiled. It is thought to have been
assembled in circa 1645 - 50 due to the numerous
portraits of seventeenth-century nobles and of
the elderly Shah, and the absence of royal
portraits depicting later rulers. The album pages
share several features, such as the borders
bearing portraits that are often related to the
central figure, or floral sprays in colours and
gold, as well as the ornately decorated
calligraphic panels.
The Mughal emperors of the seventeenth century
were avid collectors of calligraphy from past
eras and Mir 'Ali of Herat was the most acclaimed
Persian calligrapher of the sixteenth century,
whose works were highly sought after.
Calligraphic pieces and some earlier portraits
were often assembled into albums, combined with
miniatures by the foremost masters of the day and
embellished with finely decorated borders. This
approach was particularly popular at the Mughal
court, where Shah Jahan (r.1628-58) commissioned
several such albums from the court atelier. The
present page is an excellent case in point.
The calligrapher Mir 'Ali studied under Zayn
al-Din Mahmud and Sultan 'Ali al-Mashhadi. He was
employed at Herat until 1528 when he was taken by
the conquering Uzbek warlord 'Ubayd Khan to
Bukhara, where he stayed until he died. The year
of his death has not been firmly established, but
different sources mention 1533, 1544 and 1558. He
was highly esteemed in his own day and Qadi Ahmad
tells us that he "carried off the ball of
pre-eminence and superiority, for in laying down
the foundations of nasta'liq he was the initiator
of new rules and of a praiseworthy canon..."
(Minorsky 1959, p.126).
As with lots 4 and 5 of the Berkeley Trust
Collection sale held in these rooms 12 October
2004, the hand of the "Master of the
Borders" is discernible in the confidence
and quality of the decorative features on the
verso. The refinement of individual petals,
leaves and stems bordered in gold suggests the
work of a master. Indeed, according to some
scholars, such borders "rank among the
highest and most sophisticated works of art
created under the emperor's aegis." (Welch
and Welch 1982; no.73, pp.220-222). It is
astonishing that any artist could imbue
illustrations on so small a scale with such
naturalism, grace and technical precision.
The subject of the miniature, Amr Singh, was
defeated by the forces of Prince Khurram - later
Shah Jahan, in his father's ninth regnal year.
Amr Singh's final capitulation came after the
Mughal prince stationed his forces at strategic
points along the Mewar borders and led a series
of crippling attacks against the Rana's army. As
was the tradition of the rajas, Amr pledged his
son in service to the Mughals and paid homage to
the young Jahan by presenting him with famous
jewels, elephants and horses. In the
Jahangirnama, the eponymous Shah proudly recalls
that, "as a sign of favour, my son came
forward, and when the Rana grasped my son's leg
and asked forgiveness for his offences, my lucky
son took his head in his lap and consoled him in
such a way that his distress was soothed. He
awarded him a sumptuous robe of honour, a
jewel-studded sword, a horse with a jewelled
saddle and a royal elephant with silver
trappings." (Thackston 1999, p.165). The
long-standing animosity between the two dynasties
and the real threat Mewar poised to the Mughals,
is captured in the relief expressed by Jahangir
in his unusual addition of "Allahu
Akbar" to the inscription on this portrait.
The artist that Jahangir attributes the painting
to is Bishin Das, whose skill at capturing
likeness in portraiture was so highly regarded
that he was despatched by the Shah with the
Mughal embassy to Safavid Persia. Indeed Jahangir
honours the artist in his memoirs by recording
that "Bishin Das... was unequalled in his
age for taking likenesses." Bishin Das
flourished from circa 1589 to 1650 and was also
notable for his convincing group arrangements and
the individuality of his female figures. A
further page by Bishin Das included in the Late
Shah Jahan Album is located in the Museum of Fine
Arts Boston. However it differs from the present
example in that it is a group scene set in a
naturalistic landscape and lacks the date and
inscription in Jahangir's hand (Okada 1992,
p.158).
Other examples of pages from the Late Shah Jahan
album have been sold in these rooms 10 July 1968,
lot 18; 1 July 1969, lot 110; 1 December 1969,
lots 150, 151 and 152; Sotheby's New York Indian,
Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art 6 October 1990,
lot 16; Christie's, 18 October 1994, lot 34; 21
September 2001; lot 28.
Seen on www.Sothebys.com
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