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About this Item

Title

  • Insha'

Names

  • Mir Kalan

Created / Published

  • 18th century

Headings

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

Notes

  • -  Insha' literary compositions or letters (insha') written by the calligrapher, Mir Kalan, in the Indian Nasta'liq script, from Janpur in India in the 18th Cent.
  • -  A small note at the top of this fragment's recto states that the work was executed in the "handwriting of" (khatt-i...) Mir Kalan. In the lower left corner appears a squiggle motif. The main text, written in black ink on a white piece of paper, consists of a letter. It is initiated by a bayt (verse) of poetry on love and separation, and continues with the writer expressing his wish to see his addressee again. He describes his friend/brother as a son and as the source of all generosity (of which he hopes to receive some of the benefit).
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: Recto: 11 (w) x 16.1 (h) cm. Dimensions of Written Surface: Verso: 7.9 (w) 16.2 (h) cm
  • -  The calligraphies are typically written in 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...).
  • -  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 particular fragment's verso bears a note attributing the text to a particular calligrapher, although the note is now damaged. If written by the same writer as the text on the fragment's recto (1-87-154.146f R), then one may assume that it was executed by Mir Kalan. The text itself, executed in black ink on a white piece of paper, begins with two bayts of poetry about joy and the need to see one's friends. Then the writer includes his own letter, stating that he is in good health and hopes to be of use (literally, become a servant, or bandagar) to the addressee.
  • -  Script: Indian nasta'liq
  • -  1-87-154.146f

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 19 (w) x 30 (h) cm

Repository

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

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714655

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/2019714655/.

APA citation style:

Mir Kalan. Insha'. 18th Century. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714655/.

MLA citation style:

Mir Kalan. Insha'. 18th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714655/>.