Top of page

About this Item

Title

  • Insha'

Names

  • Mir Kalan

Created / Published

  • 18th century

Headings

  • -  Calligraphy, Arabic
  • -  Calligraphy, Persian
  • -  Manuscripts, Persian--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  India
  • -  Arabic script calligraphy
  • -  Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Indian nasta'liq
  • -  Islamic calligraphy
  • -  Islamic manuscripts

Notes

  • -  A Persian literary compositions Insha', written by renowned Indian painter: Mir Kalan, in Lucknow, in the Indian Nasta'liq script.
  • -  Recto: Dimensions of Written Surface: 10.2 (w) x 17.3 (h) cm. Verso: Dimensions of Written Surface: 11.3 (w) x 21 (h) cm
  • -  The calligraphies are typically written a hasty nasta'liq on white paper, framed in blue, and pasted to a pink or salmon cardboard. They stand out for being in rather poor condition, in many cases badly damaged by worm holes and/or water stains. Some bear squiggle-like marks in the margins, while others include seal impressions that were cut out and pasted onto the cardboards. In most cases, an attribution to a calligrapher is written at the top, preceded by the expression "written by" (raqamahu) or "the handwriting of" (khatt-i...).
  • -  The verso of this calligraphic fragment includes an attribution note at the top stating that it was executed by Mir Kalan. The main text is executed in black ink on a beige piece of paper. The letter begins with a bayt of poetry that states the lover should not push him away, as he has not committed any sins. Then follows the letter proper, which is overwrought by metaphors to show the writer's friendship, love, and pain at separation. He states: "I poured the salt (namak) of your friendship in my liver (jigar), and I planted the egg of your love in the field of my spirit." Truly, he warns, if he were to write just a fraction of his sadness in this letter, this piece of paper (safha-yi kaghaz) would burn to ashes. He concludes by stating that he cannot wait to see his friend in two or three days.
  • -  This calligraphic fragment belongs to a series of twenty-two literary compositions or letters (insha') written by the calligraphers named Mir Kalan, Khan Zaman (son of Khan Khanan), Qa'im Khan, Lutfallah Khan, and Mahabat Khan (1-84-154.49, 1-84-154.53-54, 1-87-154.146a-f, and 1-88-154.30). Judging from the script (Indian nasta'liq), a seal impression bearing the date 1113/1701-2 (1-87-154.146a R), and a letter mentioning the city of Janpur in India, it appears that these writings were executed in India during the 18th century. Furthermore, if one were to identify the calligrapher Mir Kalan as the renowned painter active during the mid-18th century in Lucknow, then this identification would add further support to identifying this calligraphic series in the Library of Congress' collection as a corpus of materials produced by several writers active in 18th-century India.
  • -  This calligraphic fragment's recto includes an attribution note at the top stating that it was executed by Mir Kalan. An otherwise unrelated document, perhaps from a ledger or accounting book, was torn out and pasted above the calligraphic sample. It includes the words "inhabitant (sakin) of Lucknow," lending further support to the supposed Indian provenance of these materials. In the lower left corner appears a squiggle motif. The main text is executed in black ink on a white piece of paper framed in blue. The writer begins his letter with three bayts (verses) of poetry about the enthusiasm of seeing one's close friends. The writer then apologizes for having been busy with work and thus was unable or prohibited (mahrum) from visiting his friend. He then concludes his letter with another bayt of poetry, which states that even though it is his fault that they are apart, he (the addressee) should know that the writer's heart is in his "dust," i.e., at his command.
  • -  Script: Indian nasta'liq
  • -  1-04-713.19.24

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 19 (w) x 29.5 (h) cm

Repository

  • Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714530

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The contents of the Library of Congress Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions and are free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, African and Middle East Division, Near East Section Persian Manuscript Collection

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Mir Kalan. Insha'. 18th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714530/.

APA citation style:

Mir Kalan. Insha'. 18th Century. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714530/.

MLA citation style:

Mir Kalan. Insha'. 18th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714530/>.