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Lot Essay
Mir 'Ali al-Katib (d.1556) is mentioned as one of the most important nasta'liq calligraphers in Safavid sources. His recorded works are dated between AH 914 / 1508-09 AD and AH 951 / 1544-45 AD. Various authorities attribute the codifying of the aesthetic rules of the nasta'liq script to Mir 'Ali. Born in Herat in 1476 AD, he was taken to Shaybanid Bukhara after Herat was captured by 'Ubaydullah Khan in 1528-29 AD (Mehdi Bayani, Ahval va Asar-e Khosh-Nevisan, vol. II, Tehran, 1346 SH, p. 494). Comparable calligraphic panels signed by Mir 'Ali Al-Katib have been sold in these Rooms 24 April 2015, lot 158 and 26 April 2018, lot 59.
The upper right corner of the central panel reads 'For [my] son Sultan Bayazid' which likely refers to the calligrapher and pupil of Mir 'Ali Haravi Sultan Bayazid (d. 1579) whom he regarded as a son. Another piece written by Mir 'Ali for Sultan Bayazid is in the Royal Collection Trust (RCIN 1005052). The remainder of the verses in large nasta'liq are a lament on the death of Central Asian Sufi saint Khwaja Ishaq.
The upper right corner of the central panel reads 'For [my] son Sultan Bayazid' which likely refers to the calligrapher and pupil of Mir 'Ali Haravi Sultan Bayazid (d. 1579) whom he regarded as a son. Another piece written by Mir 'Ali for Sultan Bayazid is in the Royal Collection Trust (RCIN 1005052). The remainder of the verses in large nasta'liq are a lament on the death of Central Asian Sufi saint Khwaja Ishaq.