A PANEL OF NASTA'LIQ

SIGNED MIR 'ALI AL-KATIB, SAFAVID IRAN, AH 936/1529-30 AD

Details

A PANEL OF NASTA'LIQ
SIGNED MIR 'ALI AL-KATIB, SAFAVID IRAN, AH 936/1529-30 AD
Persian manuscript on gold-illuminated buff paper, with three panels each of 4ll. of elegant diagonal nasta'liq, alternating with smaller panels with 2ll. of nasta'liq in two columns, illuminated corners, final lines with abjad date and signature, laid down between minor pink borders on light blue margins
Text panel 9 1/8 x 5 3/8in. (23.3 x 13.7cm.); folio 14 x 9in. (35.5 x 23cm.)

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Lot Essay

The first quatrain of our panel explains that the poetry that follows is by 'Ali al-Husayni in praise of Khwaja Mir who was chosen by Sultan 'Abd al-'Aziz, the ruler of Bukhara (r.1540-49), as his vazir.The panel is signed by Mir 'Ali al-Katib (d.1544-45 AD), who is often mentioned by Safavid sources as amongst the most important nasta'liq calligraphers of all time. Various authorities attribute the codifying of the aesthetic rules of nasta'liq script to him. Born in Herat circa 1476 AD, he was later taken to Bukhara by the Shaybanid ruler 'Ubaydullah Khan after his capture of Herat in AH 935/1528-29 AD (Bayani, 1346 sh. p.494). His recorded works are dated between AH 914/1508-09 AD and AH 951/1544-45 AD.
Calligraphy panels by Mir 'Ali recently sold at auction include Christie's, London, 26 October 2017, lots 41 and 180.

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