LUCKNOW, PROVINCIAL MUGHAL INDIA, CIRCA 1760; THE QUATRAIN, SIGNED HAFIZ NURULLAH, INDIA, CIRCA 1760

Many calligraphic specimens in Polier albums which are signed by Muhammad ‘Ali (see previous lot), are accompanied by calligraphic compositions signed by the calligrapher Hafiz Nurullah, who was also active during the reign of Asafal-Daula (r.1775-1797). Ghulam Muhammad who met Hafiz at his home in Lucknow praises him as one of the greatest masters of the nasta‘liq style of the time (Dihlavi, Ghulam Muhammad Haft-Qalami. The Tadhkira-I Khushnavisan of Mawlana Ghulam Muhammad Haft-Qalami Dihlavi. Edited by M. Hidayat Husain. Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press, Asiatic Society, 1910, p.64-65). Hafiz’s works were highly sought after in Lucknow and sold at extremely high prices. The following two lots are both signed by this calligrapher and come from the same album. The quatrain on this folio is by the Persian poet, Sa’di.