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Lot Essay
An old English inscription in ink on the reverse reads 'The rescue of Anushirwan by Umar Aiyer (A scene from Bustan-Amir Hamza). Humayun ordered Mir Sayyid Ali to prepare a set of of paintings of this book. Note. This seems to be a painting done by some later artist. Lucknow'.
This inscription is erroneous however. The scene shown here depicts Sa’id Farrukh Nizhad being freed from the prison where he is kept captive. Songhur Balkhi, Lulu the spy and the Ayyars raid the prison and cut the throats of the guards to free their friend. In the present painting. the protagonists are seen at three successive moments of the action: cutting the throats of the guards, freeing the prince and escaping the fort. The same scene is illustrated on the earliest and most famous copy of the Hamzanama, commissioned by Emperor Akbar, on a folio now in the Brooklyn Museum of Art (24.46 https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/23163/).
This fantastical and immensely popular Persian text tells the story of Amir Hamza, the legendary uncle of the Prophet Muhammad, with elements of local legends. The spys, such as Lulu and Umar 'Ayyar play an important role in the story. Prince Farrukh Nizhad is an ally of Amir Hamza and is in love with Malak Mah, King Na'im's daughter.
This inscription is erroneous however. The scene shown here depicts Sa’id Farrukh Nizhad being freed from the prison where he is kept captive. Songhur Balkhi, Lulu the spy and the Ayyars raid the prison and cut the throats of the guards to free their friend. In the present painting. the protagonists are seen at three successive moments of the action: cutting the throats of the guards, freeing the prince and escaping the fort. The same scene is illustrated on the earliest and most famous copy of the Hamzanama, commissioned by Emperor Akbar, on a folio now in the Brooklyn Museum of Art (24.46 https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/23163/).
This fantastical and immensely popular Persian text tells the story of Amir Hamza, the legendary uncle of the Prophet Muhammad, with elements of local legends. The spys, such as Lulu and Umar 'Ayyar play an important role in the story. Prince Farrukh Nizhad is an ally of Amir Hamza and is in love with Malak Mah, King Na'im's daughter.