NORTH INDIAN, DATED 5 RAJAB 1123/19 AUGUST 1711

Details

MUHYI AL-DIN LARI (D. AH 933/1526-7 AD): KITAB FUTUH AL-HARAMAYN
NORTH INDIAN, DATED 5 RAJAB 1123/19 AUGUST 1711
A traveller's versified account of the Hajj and the Haramayn, Persian manuscript on paper, 41ff. plus 5 fly-leaves, each folio with 17ll. of black nasta'liq arranged in two columns with double gold intercolumnar divisions and margins in gold with black rule, with headings in red nasta'liq, 18 diagrammatic miniatures in gouache heightened with gold, depicting and labelling the various sites associated with the Hajj, most miniatures with gold decorated guard sheets, colophon dated fi 5 Rajab sanat 1123, modern green leather binding with flap, some areas of water staining and restoration in the outer margins
Folio 11 x 7 5/8in. (28 x 19.4cm.); Text 8¼ x 4¼in. (21 x 10.8cm.)

Provenance

Anon sale, Sotheby's London, 14 October 1999, lot 27
With Sam Fogg

Literature

Croftson Black and Nabil Saidi, Islamic Manuscripts, Sam Fogg, London, 2000, No. 51, pp. 148-51

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis. Please note that the lots of Iranian origin are subject to U.S. trade restrictions which currently prohibit the import into the United States. Similar restrictions may apply in other countries.

Lot Essay

Muhy'il-Din Lari wrote the work in AH 911/1506 AD and dedicated it to Muzaffar b. Mahmud, Shah of Gujarat. The text was long attributed to poet Jami, perhaps on account of the quotations from his work included. The text also includes prayers for the different stages of the journey in red ink as well as advice for visiting Mecca and Medina.

The illustrations are as follows:
f.2v: Four shrines, including that of Abu Bakr
f.18v: A plan of the Ka'ba in Mecca and its surrounding precinct
f.20r: The road between Safa and Marwah, with the shrine at Safa shown in elevation and that at Marwah in plan
f.20v: Jebel Abu Qubais, with half moons to either side
f.21v: Suq al-Lil (The Night Market), birthplace of the Prophet, 'Ali and Fatima, and the site of the talking stone
f.22r: A plan of an arcade in the town of Mud'a
f.24r: The al-Ma'la cemetery, 1km north of the Masjid al-Haram
f.24v: Mount Shabika, with shrines in honour of 'Umar and Sheikh 'Abd al-Kabir
f.25v: Jebel Nur (The Mountain of Light) and its pool, the site of the first revelation of the Prophet
f.26r: Jebel Thawr, with the small cave where the Prophet hid from the Quraysh
f.29: Mount 'Arafat, with a small shrine on top
f.30: Muzdalifah, a site between 'Arafat and Mina, with three large lamp clusters (chiraghan)
f.32r: Jamra al-'Aqabah, the pass between Medina and Mecca
f.36v: Jebel Mifrah, a mountain between Mecca and Medina
f.37r: The Mosque at Medina, portrayed in an Indian architectural style f.40r: The Baqia cemetery at Medina
f.40v: The Mosque at Qaba, three miles from Medina, two small shrines, the Masjid Shams and Masjid Hazrat, two wells (chah)
f.41r: Jebel Uhud, the shrine of Emir Hamza, the Prophet's uncle

More from Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds

View All