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拍品專文
This scroll is a very interesting combination of a genealogical lineage stretching from Adam at the time of creation to Fath al-Mulk, also known as Mirza Fakhru, son of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Emperor of the Mughal dynasty. In addition to the genealogical tree, there is also a long text explaining the accuracy of the lineage and its source, attributing these to an earlier Persian source. (see lot 349 for a discussion on the Persian source). Furthermore there is a miniature painting in the Company School style of the Nawab 'Abd al-Rahman of Jhajjar. The Nawab of Jhajjar was a well-known patron of Company School portraits particularly from the workshop of Ghulam and Mazhar 'Ali Khan, (W. Dalrymple, The Last Mughal, London, 2006, p.231). Another portrait of the Nawab of Jhajjar in the Company School style are in the British Library, Add.Or.4680, illustrated in Dalrymple, op. cit., p.261. An additional portrait of the Nawab of Jhajjar seated in a position very similar to our own and signed by Ghulam 'Ali, was sold at Sotheby's, 17 June 1999, lot 58. For a portrait of Mirza Fakhru standing next to his father Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, see a miniature dated May-June 1838 AD sold in these Rooms, 11 June 1986, lot 161. The likeness there indicates that the miniature on our scroll does not represent Mirza Fakhru.
The Nawab of Jhajjar was deposed in 1857 and Mirza Fakhru passed away in 1856, so the scroll must have been commissioned prior to these events. It also remains to wonder why this combination of a miniature portrait of the Nawab of Jhajjar was placed on genealogical scroll for Mirza Fakhru. The issue of the succession is probably the answer. The initial heir to Bahadur Shah Zafar, Mirza Dara Bakht died from feaver in 1849 triggering fierce competition among the surviving princes. Eventually Mirza Fakhru was confirmed as the successor to Bahadur Shah Zafar in 1853 by the British Agent Thomas Metcalfe. This scroll might have been presented by the Nawab of Jhajjar to Mirza Fakhru to illustrate his support for his nomination as successor to the Mughal throne. Significantly, both Mirza Fakhru and the Nawab of Jhajjar were reputed to be sympathetic to the British Government in India and thus were probably political allies at the Mughal court.
The Nawab of Jhajjar was deposed in 1857 and Mirza Fakhru passed away in 1856, so the scroll must have been commissioned prior to these events. It also remains to wonder why this combination of a miniature portrait of the Nawab of Jhajjar was placed on genealogical scroll for Mirza Fakhru. The issue of the succession is probably the answer. The initial heir to Bahadur Shah Zafar, Mirza Dara Bakht died from feaver in 1849 triggering fierce competition among the surviving princes. Eventually Mirza Fakhru was confirmed as the successor to Bahadur Shah Zafar in 1853 by the British Agent Thomas Metcalfe. This scroll might have been presented by the Nawab of Jhajjar to Mirza Fakhru to illustrate his support for his nomination as successor to the Mughal throne. Significantly, both Mirza Fakhru and the Nawab of Jhajjar were reputed to be sympathetic to the British Government in India and thus were probably political allies at the Mughal court.