Lot Essay
Shahab al-Din 'Abdullah al-Murvarid ('The Pearl'), was also known by the pen-name Bayani. According to Sam Mirza, he was the son of Khwaja Shams al-Din Muhammad al-Kirmani, a noble of Kirman and minister of the Timurid court who was on one occasion sent as an envoy by the Timurid ruler to Bahrain, returning with fine pearls. Hence he earnt the nisba al-Murvarid. Shahab al-Din 'Abdullah was introduced to Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqara when he was young, and soon rose to become the minister to the prince, replacing Amir Shir Nava'i in impressing the prince's seal on firmans. He was also a poet, musician and calligrapher at the court. On the prince's death, 'Abdullah retired from the court. When Shah Isma'il took Khorasan, he offered 'Abdullah a post. He turned this offer down but accepted the commission to write the Tarikh-i Shahi ('Royal History'). He is said to have been a pupil of 'Abdullah Tabbakh, and was highly accomplished in all styles, and second only to Mir 'Ali in nasta'liq. Sam Mirza reports him to have been the preeminent calligrapher in riqa' and tawqi'. He died in AH 922/1516-17 AD.
For his biography, see Mehdi Bayani, Ahval va asar-e khosh nevisan, vol.II, Tehran, 1356 sh., no.487, pp.350-52 and Esra Akin-Kivan, Mustafa Ali's Epic Deeds of the Artists, Leiden, 2011, pp.247-48.
For his biography, see Mehdi Bayani, Ahval va asar-e khosh nevisan, vol.II, Tehran, 1356 sh., no.487, pp.350-52 and Esra Akin-Kivan, Mustafa Ali's Epic Deeds of the Artists, Leiden, 2011, pp.247-48.