PROVINCIAL MUGHAL, POSSIBLY AWADH OR DECCAN, INDIA, CIRCA 1720-30

The following lots (74-77) are closely related to a small group of folios from a poetical romance relating to Shah ‘Alam I. Each shares the salmon-pink borders with gold speckles or gilt floral scrolls and have stencilled animals in landscapes to the reverse. Four folios from the album were sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 17 March 1988, lots 326-329, one of which is now in the Cleveland Museum of Art (inv.no.2013.337.a) and another in the Newark Museum (inv.no.41.1122), while a fifth was sold at Sotheby's, New York, 22 March 1989, lot 66 and subsequently in these Rooms, 1 October 2012, lot 16.
The illuminated text panels (lot 77), however, are written in prose and include an epic similar to that of the Hamzanama, involving a hero called Mir Uways, an unnamed king and the legendary vizier Jamasp. The text describes struggles against the enemies of religion, using examples such as Sultan Husayn Mirza as a ruler of Iran who is said to have ruined the country despite his piety and good intentions. The hero is likely the semi-legendary early Islamic figure, Uways al-Qarani, who became an important figure in some Sufi circles, and in some legends he is said to have come to India. The text also mentions the 'Haydari sword’, which would suggest it was produced in a Shi’a milieu.