SULTANATE INDIA, SECOND QUARTER 16TH CENTURY

The Chandayana was written in 1379 by Mawlana Da’ud of Dalmau for Jauna Shah who was the Vizier of the Sultan of Delhi, Firuz Shah Tughluq. It was based on an ancient Indian poem about the romance of Laur and Chanda. The illustrations produced in Sultanate India in the 16th century, combine elements of Persian painting with the indigenous Chaurapanchasika manuscript painting style of northern India. Various attributions have been given to the original manuscript, including Delhi/Agra, Awadh and Mandu. In an introduction to three folios in the Khalili Collection, Dr Leach is unable to place it precisely, leaving it open as "Sultanate" (Leach, 1998, pp.11-15).

A number of miniatures survive from this remarkable pre-Mughal manuscript known as the Prince of Wales Chandayana since the remaining text and a number of miniatures comprising seventy-three pages are in the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai. At least twenty-eight others are in various institutions and private collections. For another example and further details on the manuscript, see Mason, 2001, no.10, pp.50-1. Other pages are discussed in Dye III, 2001, cat.72, p.208-10. Folios which have sold at auction include Sotheby’s, New York, 17 March 2015, lot 1115; Christie’s South Kensington, 23 April 2012, Lot 293; 7 October 2011, lot 364; Christie’s London 23 September 2005, lot 80.