Manuscript/Mixed Material Insha'

Title

• Insha'

Names

• Khan Zaman

Created / Published

• 18th century

Headings

• -  Calligraphy, Arabic
• -  Manuscripts, Persian--Washington (D.C.)
• -  Calligraphy, Persian
• -  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 Khan Zaman, in the Indian Nasta'liq script, from Janpur in India in the 18th Cent.
• -  Dimensions of Written Surface: Recto: 11.5 (w) x 14 (h). Dimensions of Written Surface: Verso: 6 (w) x 12.7 (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 calligraphic fragment includes a note at the top horizontal stating that the text is in the "handwriting of" (khatt-i...) Khan Zaman, the son (walad) of Khan Khanan. In the lower horizontal margin appears a squiggle design and a cut out seal impression pasted onto the salmon paper. The seal impression also bears the name of Khan Zaman. The main text is executed in black ink on white paper decorated with blue sprinkles. The author writes to his dear friend/brother (baradar-i mahraban-i man) to tell him how much he misses him and that he is in his prayers (du'a). Interestingly, the fragment's verso (1-87-154.146c V) provides an exact duplicate copy of this text, suggesting that the original was executed as a stencil and used as an exemplum of how to write compositions (insha') to one's friend or brother during times of separation.
• -  Script: Indian nasta'liq
• -  1-87-154.146c

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

• https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.amed/ascs.168

Library of Congress Control Number

• 2019714652

Online Format

• pdf
• image

LCCN Permalink

• https://lccn.loc.gov/2019714652

Additional Metadata Formats

• MARCXML Record
• MODS Record
• Dublin Core Record

IIIF Presentation Manifest

• Manifest (JSON/LD)