Dating the Prince: A Picture in the St Petersburg Mughal Album (original) (raw)
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The Look of the Book: Manuscript Production in Shiraz, 1303-1452
2012
specifically royalpatronage is not in doubt and is more extensive. Manuscripts were commissioned by an Injuid vizier and by the sister and mother of the ruler Abu Ishaq, who himself commissioned at least three surviving pieces of metal-work^*^and who can, perhaps, be associated with two manuscripts, though neither actually bears his name. These two manuscripts are a copy of Mu'nis al-ahrar, produced in Isfahan and dated 741/1341 (Kuwait LNS 9 MS), and the undated Stephens Shahnama. In the double-page frontispiece included in each, a ruler is shown enthroned with his consort, a scene also depicted on Abu Ishaq's candlestick (see fig. 2zb) and on the TbiUsi tray. The portrayal of an enthroned couple is rare in Islamic art as a whole, yet a surprising twenty-six such depictions, including two on metalwork, are known from the fourteenth century. Including those previously discussed, they are: SMALL, SQ_UARE ENTHRONEMENTS (TABRIZ) 1. Berlin-SB Diez A foHo 71, s. 41 no. 4, s. 42 no. 4, s. 42 no. 6, s. 45 no. 4, s. 46 no. 6, and s. 63 no. 1 (six paintings) 2. Berlin-SB Diez A folio 71, s. 63 nos. 2-3 and 5-7 (five paintings) 3. Tashkent 1620, fF. 109a ("Ogedei Khan and His Wife") and 193a ("Hulagu Khan and His Wife"), Tarikh-i ghazani (vol. 1 ofJami' al-tavarikh) (two paintings)^-SINGLE-PAGE ENTHRONEMENTS (TABRIZ) 4. BerUn-SB Diez A foHo 70, s. 22^5. BerUn-SB Diez A folio 71, s. 48''* 6. BerUn-SB Diez A folio 71, s. 52^^" DOUBLE-PAGE ENTHRONEMENTS (TABRIZ) 7. BerUn-SB Diez A foUo 70, s. 10 (one half of a double-page composition with s. sY^' 8. BerUn-SB Diez A foUo 70, s. 21 (one half of a double-page composition with s. 11) ''9. Berlin-SB Diez A foUo 70, s. 23 (one half of a double-page composition with s. 20) '1 0. TS H. 2153, f. 23b (presumably one half of what was once a double-page composition)'''' 36 CHAPTER 1 u. TS H. 2153, f. 148b (presumably one half of what was once a double-page composition)^" 12. Rampur, Reza Library no. 1820, If. i54b-55a, "The Enthronement of Timur Khan and His Consort," Tarikh-i ghazani OTHER ENTHRONEMENTS 13. Tbilisi 48/ 1, inlaid brass tray, first half of the fourteenth century, Fars^1 4. Qatar MW.122.1999, candlestick with the name of Abu Ishaq Inju (see figs. 22a-b) 15. Kuwait LNS 9 MS, Mu'nis al-ahrar, £ 2a, Isfahan, 741/1341 (fig. 24) 16. Sackler LTSi998.i.i.3a, Stephens Shahnama, f. 3a, n.d., but late 1340s, early 1350S (fig. 25) 29-Marginal, Our'an, probably 1340s, 42.4 X 30.9 cm (folio). Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, OURi82,f 41a. © Nour Foundation. Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust. 30. Marginal, Our'an, probably 1340s, 42.4 X 30.9 cm (folio).
A Note on the Mosque Inscriptions on a Pedestal of a Bengal Sultan in the Varendra Research Museum
Journal of Ancient Indian History, VOl.XXVII, 2010
This paper is an attempt to understand the iconoplastic art and the epigraphic record of two inscribed pedestal of Vi_nu images discovered from the Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh. These two objects of art are now housed in the Varendra Research Museum, Rajshahi under Accession number 2446 and Accession number 314. The epigraphic records incised at the back of the images concerned are engraved with an Arabic script. The two inscriptions belong to the reign of Sultan 'Alã al-d+n Husain Sh h of Bengal, (899-925 AH/AD 1493 1519). The first inscription i.e, the Kusumba Mosque inscription is dated the 13th Jam di Awwal, the year 904 AH (27th December, 1498 A.D.)' (Karim, 1992: 245). The second inscription i.e; Mahisantosh Mosque inscription is dated the 9th day of the month of Ramad n, in the year 912 AH (23rd January, 1507 A.D.). (Karim, 1992: 283). The following paper tries to focus on the historical, socio-religious and cultural understanding of the region and the period on the basis of the epigraphic records on these pedestal inscriptions.' (Sattar, 2010) In this context it may be mentioned that there are several sculptures (datable/undatable) belonging to Buddhist, Brahmanical and Jaina religious affiliation bearing an Arabic and Persian scripts reported from different ateliers of Bengal. The Varendra Research Museum,
The Seated Nobleman of L-Area as it was excavated. "Seated male figure with head missing (45, 46). On the back of the figure, the hair style can be partially reconstructed by a wide swath of hair and a braided lock of hair or ribbon hanging along the right side of the back. A cloak is draped over the edge of the left shoulder and covers the folded legs and lower body, leaving the right shoulder and chest bare. The left arm is clasping the left knee and the hand is visible peeking out from underneath the cloak. The right hand is resting on the right knee which is folded beneath the body." (Gregory Possehl, Indus Age: The Beginnings, p. 78)." (Plate 2.29 in the book, facing p. 92.) • • Male Statue . "[The Seated Nobleman was] found above pavement in N.E. corner of Chamber 75 in L-Area. (its datum was 2.5 feet below datum.) Late Period. Material, veined grey alabaster. The figure, which is 11.5 inches high, is obviously that of a male and is dressed in a thin kilt-like garment fastened round the waist. (It is not clear how Mr. Mackay infers the existence of this kilt beneath the outer garment.–[ED.].) Another garment or shawl of thin material is worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm, and appears to hang down over the kilt. The left knee of the figure is raised, but there is nothing to indicate the position of the right foot beneath it. The sculptor, and not subsequent weathering, is responsible for this lack of detail. The left arm is carried around the side of the left knee, so that the hand clasps the front of the knee. This hand is only roughly indicated, and the sculptor evidently was not clear how it should be arranged. Indeed, it is difficult to believe that the same man carved both the arms and hands, for the right arm, though of rough workmanship, shows some power of modeling, whereas the left arm and hand are positively shapeless. (It should not be forgotten that the left arm is hidden beneath the mantle or shawl, while the right arm is bare. It is not to be expected, therefore, that there should be much definition in the modeling of the left arm. Probably the mantle itself was painted, and this would have made a great difference to the apparent uncouthness of the lower part of the figure.) A squarish projection at the back of the head is evidently intended to represent a knot of hair. It is, however, unfinished and shows the chisel marks of the preliminary dressing. There is somewhat more finish about what may be a rope of hair hanging down the back." (John Marshall, Mohenjo-daro, Plate C, 1-3 (L 950), pp. 358-9) • https://www.harappa.com/blog/3-l-area-mohenjodaro-statues • Seated Male Sculpture Seated male figure with head missing. On the back of the figure, the hair style can be partially reconstructed by a wide swath of hair and a braided lock of hair or ribbon hanging along the right side of the back. A cloak is draped over the edge of the left shoulder and covers the folded legs and lower body, leaving the right shoulder and chest bare. The left arm is clasping the left knee and the hand is visible peeking out from underneath the cloak. The right hand is resting on the right knee which is folded beneath the body. Material: limestone Dimensions: 28 cm height, 22 cm width Mohenjo-daro, L 950 Islamabad Museum • "Priest King", Mohenjo-daro Seated male sculpture, or "Priest King" from Mohenjo-daro. Fillet or ribbon headband with circular inlay ornament on the forehead and similar but smaller ornament on the right upper arm. The two ends of the fillet fall along the back and though the hair is carefully combed towards the back of the head, no bun is present. The flat back of the head may have held a separately carved bun as is traditional on the other seated figures, or it could have held a more elaborate horn and plumed headdress. Two holes beneath the highly stylized ears suggest that a necklace or other head ornament was attached to the sculpture. The left shoulder is covered with a cloak decorated with trefoil, double circle and single circle designs that were originally filled with red pigment. Drill holes in the center of each circle indicate they were made with a specialized drill and then touched up with a chisel. Eyes are deeply incised and may have held inlay. The upper lip is shaved and a short combed beard frames the face. The large crack in the face is the result of weathering or it may be due to original firing of this object. Material: white, low fired steatite Dimensions: 17.5 cm height, 11 cm width Mohenjo-daro, DK 1909 National Museum, Karachi, 50.852 • Male head, Mohenjo-daro Male head probably broken from a seated sculpture. Finely braided or wavy combed hair tied into a double bun on the back of the head and a plain fillet or headband with two hanging ribbons falling down the back The upper lip is shaved and a closely cropped and combed beard lines the pronounced lower jaw. The stylized almond shaped eyes are framed by long eyebrows. The wide mouth is very similar to that on the "Priest-King" sculpture. Stylized ears are made of a double curve with a central knob. Material: sandstone Dimensions: 13.5 cm height Mohenjo-daro, DK-B 1057 Mohenjo-daro Museum, MM 431