NORTH INDIA, 18TH CENTURY

Details

SULTAN HUSAYN IBN MANSUR BAIQARA (D. AH 911/1505 AD): MAJLIS AL-'USHAQ
NORTH INDIA, 18TH CENTURY
A biographical dictionary of the Sufi saints, Persian manuscript on paper, 100ff. with 15ll. of black nasta'liq, some words in red, some text arranged in two gold-outlined columns, with thirty-three full page miniatures with captions in black, the title of each inscribed above in black, incomplete, with some missing folios, in recent navy leather binding
Folio 10 x 6in. (25.8 x 18cm.)

Provenance

Anon sale in these Rooms, 12 October 1999, lot 93
With Sam Fogg

Literature

Crofton Black and Nabil Saidi, Islamic Manuscripts, Sam Fogg, London, 2000, No. 50, pp.144-7

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

The theme of the Majlis al-'Ushaq is that of 'real' (or ideal) and 'metaphorical' (or material) love, presenting the latter as a route to the former. This copy consists of an account of the lives of sixty Sufis and sixteen rulers of Persia, including for almost every one, a description of the individual's love.

Although the work is usually attributed to the Timurid ruler Sultan Husayn Baiqara (and it is indeed he who is named in the preface as the author of the work), some authorities (see C.A.Storey, Persian Literature, London, 1972, p.961) say that it was in fact written by Kamal al-Din Husain Gazargahi, a courtier involved in the religious establishment perhaps involved as an assistant to the Sultan.

A complete list of the miniatures is available on request.

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