Christ nimbed in glory surrounded by disciples in a classical...
Ink, gold and gouache on paper, the drawing and calligraphy mounted as an album page, borders of recto with concentric bands of floral decoration, numbered in the lower border in ink “30”, inscribed in lower border in Persian “….. Isa”, verso calligraphy written in black nasta‘liq script on pale blue and buff paper, signed in two places by Muhammad Husayn Kashmiri, undecorated borders on verso, inscribed in the lower border “0909”, the upper margin with inscription in French “ce dessin a été fait par Mohammad Hin al-Kaschmiry” [sic]
drawing: 14.5 by 8.6cm.
calligraphy: 21.1 by 12.3cm.
leaf: 26.1 by 16.5cm.
Catalogue Note:
The scene shows Christ surrounded by a dazzling nimbus standing on a crescent moon in an interior, with disciples gathered round about in attitudes of prayer and holding books. In the lower border is a partly obscured inscription in Persian reading “[….] Isa” (possibly “hazrat Isa” (“Lord Jesus”) or “shabihi Isa” (“picture of Jesus”). The Christian imagery is clearly derived from European engravings, which arrived in India in large numbers from the late sixteenth century onwards. But rather than being based on a single image, the scene here seems to be a mixture of iconography from several Christian images, all based on episodes in the New Testament. Firstly, the Transfiguration of Christ, in which Christ is shown depicted nimbed in glory with apostles bowing down in awe before the vision, but is usually shown occurring on a rocky hillside rather than in a building (as related in the Gospels of Matthew (17:1-13), Mark (9: 2-13), and Luke (9:28-36); (the Ascension of Christ has similar iconography). Secondly the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which usually depicts the disciples (often including the Virgin Mary) gathered in an interior with tongues of flame above their heads with. Close observation of the figures here show that several have unusual curls or spirals just above their foreheads, possibly in imitation of the flames representing the Holy Spirit seen in the Christian images. Thirdly, the fact that the figure of Christ is shown here standing on a crescent moon as well as nimbed in glory seems to be a confusion with other Christian images, such as that of the Virgin of the Apocalypse, based on St. John’s vision of the Virgin in Apocalypse 12:1, “A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed in the sun, and the moon was under her feet”, and the Assumption of the Virgin, in which the Virgin is also often depicted standing on a crescent moon. Many European engravings of all of these scenes were produced in the sixteenth and seventeenth century and may have provided the models, but perhaps the most likely sources were illustrations of the feasts of the Christian year, in which several of these scenes would be illustrated in small vignettes on the same printed page (e.g. a series by the French engraver Nicolas Picart, c.1640, see British Museum, 1857,1212.321-1857,1212.326). This format of multiple images on the same page may have led more readily to the mixing of the iconography in the Indian version.
The style of this nim-qalam drawing is close to both Mughal and Deccani examples of the mid-seventeenth century. A close Mughal comparison is another Christian-themed scene, in this case a depiction of the Last Supper from the Warren Hastings Album (Sotheby’s, London, Bibliotheca Phillippica, 1974, lot 812), which, like the present example, has a page of calligraphy by Muhammad Husayn Zarin Qalam on the reverse. But the slightly heavy treatment of the shading and the stiffer hands and facial features suggest a Deccani origin. Close comparisons for the latter are found in four drawings of Biblical subjects in the British Library, see Falk and Archer 1981, cat. nos.443, 444i, 445, 448, pp. 238-9, 519-20, three illustrated in Verma 2011, pls.57, 59, 62, and one illustrated in Bressan 2011, pl.V and Vollmer and Weis 2015, cat.32.
The calligraphy on the reverse is by the Mughal royal calligrapher Muhammad Husayn Kashmiri, known as Zarin Qalam (Golden Pen), who was considered by Emperor Akbar to be the greatest master of the period. In the Ain-i Akbari Abu'l Fazl describes him thus:
"The artist who, in the shadow of the throne of His Majesty, has become a master of calligraphy is Muhammad Husain of Kashmir. He has been honoured with the title Zarrinqalam, the gold pen. He surpassed his master maulana Abdul-Aziz; his maddat and dawa'ir show everywhere a proper proportion to each other, and art critics consider him equal to Mulla Mir Ali" (Ain-i Akbari, tr. Blochmann, 1977, vol.1, p.109).
Muhammad Husayn Kashmiri copied several important manuscripts for Akbar, including a copy of Sa'di's Gulistan dated 1582, now in the Royal Asiatic Society, London; Jami's Baharistan dated 1595, now in the Bodleian Library Oxford (ms.Elliot 254) and the Chester Beatty Akbarnama (Losty 1982, nos.58, 64, 70-71, pp.77, 87-88, 90, 93-94). For more on his biography see Bayani, 1984...
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Ink, gold and gouache on paper, the drawing and calligraphy mounted as an album page, borders of recto with concentric bands of floral decoration, numbered in the lower border in ink “30”, inscribed in lower border in Persian “….. Isa”, verso calligraphy written in black nasta‘liq script on pale blue and buff paper, signed in two places by Muhammad Husayn Kashmiri, undecorated borders on verso, inscribed in the lower border “0909”, the upper margin with inscription in French “ce dessin a été fait par Mohammad Hin al-Kaschmiry” [sic]
drawing: 14.5 by 8.6cm.
calligraphy: 21.1 by 12.3cm.
leaf: 26.1 by 16.5cm.
Catalogue Note:
The scene shows Christ surrounded by a dazzling nimbus standing on a crescent moon in an interior, with disciples gathered round about in attitudes of prayer and holding books. In the lower border is a partly obscured inscription in Persian reading “[….] Isa” (possibly “hazrat Isa” (“Lord Jesus”) or “shabihi Isa” (“picture of Jesus”). The Christian imagery is clearly derived from European engravings, which arrived in India in large numbers from the late sixteenth century onwards. But rather than being based on a single image, the scene here seems to be a mixture of iconography from several Christian images, all based on episodes in the New Testament. Firstly, the Transfiguration of Christ, in which Christ is shown depicted nimbed in glory with apostles bowing down in awe before the vision, but is usually shown occurring on a rocky hillside rather than in a building (as related in the Gospels of Matthew (17:1-13), Mark (9: 2-13), and Luke (9:28-36); (the Ascension of Christ has similar iconography). Secondly the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which usually depicts the disciples (often including the Virgin Mary) gathered in an interior with tongues of flame above their heads with. Close observation of the figures here show that several have unusual curls or spirals just above their foreheads, possibly in imitation of the flames representing the Holy Spirit seen in the Christian images. Thirdly, the fact that the figure of Christ is shown here standing on a crescent moon as well as nimbed in glory seems to be a confusion with other Christian images, such as that of the Virgin of the Apocalypse, based on St. John’s vision of the Virgin in Apocalypse 12:1, “A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed in the sun, and the moon was under her feet”, and the Assumption of the Virgin, in which the Virgin is also often depicted standing on a crescent moon. Many European engravings of all of these scenes were produced in the sixteenth and seventeenth century and may have provided the models, but perhaps the most likely sources were illustrations of the feasts of the Christian year, in which several of these scenes would be illustrated in small vignettes on the same printed page (e.g. a series by the French engraver Nicolas Picart, c.1640, see British Museum, 1857,1212.321-1857,1212.326). This format of multiple images on the same page may have led more readily to the mixing of the iconography in the Indian version.
The style of this nim-qalam drawing is close to both Mughal and Deccani examples of the mid-seventeenth century. A close Mughal comparison is another Christian-themed scene, in this case a depiction of the Last Supper from the Warren Hastings Album (Sotheby’s, London, Bibliotheca Phillippica, 1974, lot 812), which, like the present example, has a page of calligraphy by Muhammad Husayn Zarin Qalam on the reverse. But the slightly heavy treatment of the shading and the stiffer hands and facial features suggest a Deccani origin. Close comparisons for the latter are found in four drawings of Biblical subjects in the British Library, see Falk and Archer 1981, cat. nos.443, 444i, 445, 448, pp. 238-9, 519-20, three illustrated in Verma 2011, pls.57, 59, 62, and one illustrated in Bressan 2011, pl.V and Vollmer and Weis 2015, cat.32.
The calligraphy on the reverse is by the Mughal royal calligrapher Muhammad Husayn Kashmiri, known as Zarin Qalam (Golden Pen), who was considered by Emperor Akbar to be the greatest master of the period. In the Ain-i Akbari Abu'l Fazl describes him thus:
"The artist who, in the shadow of the throne of His Majesty, has become a master of calligraphy is Muhammad Husain of Kashmir. He has been honoured with the title Zarrinqalam, the gold pen. He surpassed his master maulana Abdul-Aziz; his maddat and dawa'ir show everywhere a proper proportion to each other, and art critics consider him equal to Mulla Mir Ali" (Ain-i Akbari, tr. Blochmann, 1977, vol.1, p.109).
Muhammad Husayn Kashmiri copied several important manuscripts for Akbar, including a copy of Sa'di's Gulistan dated 1582, now in the Royal Asiatic Society, London; Jami's Baharistan dated 1595, now in the Bodleian Library Oxford (ms.Elliot 254) and the Chester Beatty Akbarnama (Losty 1982, nos.58, 64, 70-71, pp.77, 87-88, 90, 93-94). For more on his biography see Bayani, 1984...
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