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Manuscript/Mixed Material Two bayts (verses) on lovesickness

About this Item

Title

  • Two bayts (verses) on lovesickness

Created / Published

  • late 19th century (?)

Headings

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

Notes

  • -  Two bayts (verses) on lovesickness in Persian with Arabic opening phrase, from 19th Cent. Hunza, India (Pakistan) writen nasta'liq script.
  • -  Around the verses of poetry, a calligrapher has added a dedicatory inscription. He states that calligraphy (khatt) is incomparable (bi nadir) to all other forms of art and dedicates the calligraphy to Mir Safdar 'Ali. Although the diminutives of the calligrapher -- that is, "the servant" (al-'abd) and "the humble" (al-mudhnib) -- and his request for God's forgiveness for his sins remain, his name has been erased. Other parts of the fragment have been damaged and repaired as well, suggesting that the name of the calligrapher may have been lost as a result.
  • -  As a result, it appears then this calligraphy was made for Mir Safdar 'Ali at the time of his tenure ca. 1890. If such a dating is accepted, then this piece bears witness to the continued existence and practice of nasta'liq script in India on the eve of British colonization.
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: 40 (w) x 19.5 (h) cm
  • -  In that high place where the inhabitants of the skies / Wish to be the doorkeepers of your abode / What purpose to speak to you about my state / Since you yourself know the state of (my) heart sickness
  • -  Mir Safdar 'Ali Khan (d. 1930) was a ruler of the princely state of Hunza, in present-day northeastern Pakistan, from 1886-1892. When British forces invaded the state in December 1891, Mir Safdar 'Ali fled to Kashghar and Hunza became the northernmost frontier post of the British presence in India.
  • -  This calligraphic fragment includes two bayts on the woes of lovesickness. Initiated by a praise to God, "the Glorified (al-'aziz) and the Rightly Guided (al-rashid)," the verses continue:
  • -  Tu an rafi' makani ka sakinan-i falak / Bar astan-i tu darand mayl-i darbani / Cha ihtiyaj bi-pish-i tu hal-i khud guftan / Ka hal-i khasta dilan-ra tu khub midani
  • -  Script: nasta'liq
  • -  1-84-154.40

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 47.6 (w) x 27.6 (h) cm

Repository

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

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714596

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:

Two Bayts Verses on Lovesickness. Late 19th Century ?. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714596/.

APA citation style:

Two Bayts Verses on Lovesickness. Late 19th Century ?. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714596/.

MLA citation style:

Two Bayts Verses on Lovesickness. Late 19th Century ?. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714596/>.