A DOUBLE-SIDED LEAF FROM THE IMPERIAL PERSIAN DICTIONARY, FARHANG-I JAHANGIRI, FROM THE SECTION RELATING TO THE LETTER SHIN, MUGHAL, 17TH C

A DOUBLE-SIDED LEAF FROM THE IMPERIAL PERSIAN DICTIONARY, FARHANG-I JAHANGIRI, FROM THE SECTION RELATING TO THE LETTER SHIN, MUGHAL, 17TH CENTURY Persian manuscript on paper, 35 lines to the page written in nasta'liq script in black ink with significant words picked out in red ink, outer borders exquisitely decorated in gold with human figures and animals among broad foliate designs.text field 21.2 x 11.2 cm (8 3/8 x 4 1/2 in.); folio page 34.5 x 22.2 cm (13 5/8 x 8 6/8 in.) PROVENANCEFamily Collection of the Descendants of Umar bin Awadh al Qu'aiti, sultanate in the Hadhramaut region of YemenAcquired by the present owner from the family.LOT NOTESThe Persian-language farhang (dictionary) was written by Jamal al-Din Husayn b. Fakhr al-Din Hasan Inju Shirazi (died 1626). He was from an old Persian sayyid (noble) family and came from Persia to Akbar�s court in India, where he held high offices. He began writing his dictionary in 1596_97 at Akbar�s request, basing it on Persian poems and previous lexicographical works. Because of the scope of the work and his continuous revisions, he did not complete the dictionary until after Akbar�s death in 1605. Instead, he presented the work to Akbar�s successor Jahangir. For this reason, Jamal al-Din�s Persian dictionary came to be known as the Farhang-i Jahangiri (Jahangir�s dictionary). Along with the Burhan-i Qati and the Farhang-i Rashidi, it is one of the three most important Persian-language dictionaries produced in Mughal India.