Folio of calligraphy

Object Details

• Artist

  Mir Ali Haravi (died ca. 1550)

• Description

  Detached album folio; verso: calligraphy panel, quatrain by Hafiz; Persian in black nasta'liq script; signature in the bottom cloud band; recto: Emperor Shah Jahan standing on a globe; inscriptions in Persian black nasta'liq script; one of a group of 16 folios.

  Border: The calligraphy panel is set in an inner frame of cartouches with calligraphy and a pink floral scroll outer frame mounted on paperboard with illuminated floral motifs. The painting is set in a pink, floral scroll inner frame and a gold outer frame mounted on paperboard with illuminated floral motifs.

• Signatures

  On the bottom cloud band: Faghir Mir Ali; "poor Mir Ali."

• Inscriptions

  Amal Hashim. Tarikh dovom Jamadi al-thani ruz doshanbeh seneh 38 shabih tayar shoud.

  "Work of Hashim. On the second of Jumada II, day Monday, year 1038, the portrait was executed."

  Elahi to in shah darvish dost

  ke asayesh khalgh dar zel-i oost

  basi bar sar-i khalgh payandeh dar

  betofigh ta'at delash zehdeh dar

  "Oh God, keep this king, the friend of the dervishes

  under whose shadow people's peaceful existance is maintained

  keep him for a long time [established over the people]

  keep his heart alive by the succor of obedience."

• Label

  This quatrain by the celebrated Persian poet, Hafiz (died 1209) is written in nastaliq, a script developed in late fifteenth-century Iran. Because of its simple elegance and legibility, nastaliq became the ideal script for transcribing poetry in Iran, India, and Turkey, where Persian literary culture prevailed. The calligraphy is signed by the most celebrated sixteenth-century Persian calligrapher, Mir Ali, whose work was greatly admired and avidly collected in Mughal India. To accentuate the beauty of Mir Ali's script, Mughal patrons would often add lavish floral motifs to the calligraphy.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Engaging the Senses (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Arts of the Islamic World (May 3, 1998 to January 3, 2016)

  South and South East Asian Art (May 9, 1993 to February 7, 2000)

  The Imperial Image: Painting for the Mughal Court (September 25, 1981 to 30 March 1982)

• Origin

  Iran

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Manuscript

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1500s, 1610s, 1600s, 1590s, 1540s, 1650s, 1530s, 1640s, 1520s, 1630s, 1510s, 1620s, 1580s, 1730s, 1690s, 1570s, 1680s, 1560s, 1670s, 1550s, 1660s

• Name

  Haravi, Ali

• Topic

  S?afavid dynasty, 1501-1736, Art, Arts of the Islamic World, Illumination

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Language

  Nasta?li-q script

• Object Type

  Manuscripts