Manuscript/Mixed Material Insha'

Title

• Insha'

Names

• Khan Zaman

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 Khan Zaman, in the Indian Nasta'liq script, from Janpur in India in the 18th Cent.
• -  Dimensions of Written Surface: Recto: 7 (w) x 13.5 (h) cm. Dimensions of Written Surface: Verso: 12 (w) x 24.5 (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...).
• -  The note at the top of the verso of this calligraphic fragment attributes the writing (khatt) to Khan Zaman. The main text, written in black ink on a white paper, consists of the writer's letter to his dear friend or brother (baradar-i mahraban-i man). He states that he is happy to have received his letter and that he now writes back with great joy (ishtiyaq). He also hopes for further continued contact.
• -  The recto of this particular calligraphic fragment is attributed to Khan Zaman on the top horizontal, although the attribution note is quite damaged. In the lower right margin appears a squiggle motif and some hasty inscriptions. The main text, written in black ink on white paper, is addressed to the writer's dear brother or friend (baradar-i mahraban-i man). The writer states that he is well, that he received the latter's letter, and that he hopes to see him soon.
• -  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.
• -  Script: Indian nasta'liq
• -  1-88-154.30

Medium

• 1 volume ; 19.1 (w) x 29.5 (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.207

Library of Congress Control Number

• 2019714675

Online Format

• pdf
• image

LCCN Permalink

• https://lccn.loc.gov/2019714675

Additional Metadata Formats

• MARCXML Record
• MODS Record
• Dublin Core Record

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