Persian Miniature Painting: Abdullah at the court in Kabul?

Shamse, Kabul, Circa 15501.

In Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's Haft Awrang, A Princely Manuscript from Sixteenth-Century Iran Shreve Simpson has given us a wonderfully detailed study that covers Abdollah-e Mozahheb and his peers. Simpson raises an interesting question in her notes as to where Abdollah-e Mozahheb was before the mid 1550s. Simpson notes that there is a manuscript in the NYPL that has a colophon signed by Abdollah-e Mozahheb. She terms it problematic since the Colophon would place Abdullah at the court in Kabul prior to the mid 1550s 2.

At this point my thought is if Abdollah-e Mozahheb was at the court of Kamran in Kabul is there any art that is in the style of Abdullah. Art from this period is scarce but one piece stood out as worthy of subject. In Soudavar's Art of the Persian Court there is a magnificent Shamse (roundel) that is credited with a probable attribution of Kabul circa 1550 3.

Shamse, Kabul, Circa 15504.	Detail - "Court Scene in a Garden". signed by Abdollah-e Mozahheb and dated 15815
As I focus on the details of the signed works of Abdullah as compared to the Kabul Shamse small points of similarities arise.

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Shamse, Kabul, Circa 15506.	Detail Signed Frontispiece Divan of Hafiz, 1581 - 15867 signed by Abdollah-e Mozahheb
Here we have a detail of the Kabul Shamse compared to Frontispiece Divan of Hafiz a page signed by Abdollah-e Mozahheb.

Shamse, Kabul, Circa 15508.	Qasida Heading Divan of Ibrahim Mirza in the collection of Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan. This is not a signed page but Abdollah-e Mozahheb signed and dated(1582 - 1583)   the opening page and signed one of the paintings.9
Here we have a detail of the Kabul Shamse compared to a page in the Divan of Ibrahim Mirza in the collection of Prince Sadruddin. In Arts of the Islamic Book. by Anthony Welch and Stuart Cary Welch the Welch's suggest that the Divan of Ibrahim Mirza was decorated by Abdullah10. I have a hunch we should examine the miniatures in the Divan of Ibrahim Mirza for the hand of Farrukh Beg

Shamse, Kabul, Circa 15508.	MSS plate 33
	I am beginning to suspect this may be the work of Shaykh Mahammad

Shamse, Kabul, Circa 155011.	In the west we focus on the skill with which faces are drawn and the naturalistic poses of the figures in a model. In the sixteenth century detail work like we see to the left was more valued that what we seek today. Consequently to understand this art we have to seek to understand their criteria for judging.
Detail - "Court Scene in a Garden".signed by Abdollah-e Mozahheb and dated 1581 12.

Shamse, Kabul, Circa 155013.	Decorative Gold Bands The gold-work on the Shamse seem less sophisticated than other examples. Similar but less sophisticated. Obviously this points to at least two possibilities. A. It could be the work of a younger less sophisticated Abdullah who was not yet fully developed in his skills. B. It could be the work of someone else.
Detail - "Court Scene in a Garden".signed by Abdollah-e Mozahheb and dated 158114.
Detail Frontispiece Divan of Hafiz, Signed by Abdollah-e Mozahheb 1581 - 158615

N. B.

I have a recollection that a number of Pre-Mughal Sultanate State Korans were sold at Sotheby's in the Seventies and early eighties that show similar but not identical gold Bands. I will have to dig out the catalogs. I do not remember seeing many good bands in Shiraz work in the mid-sixteenth century. Since Abdollah-e Mozahheb paints in a hybrid Shiraz style could he have been a Shiraz artist who worked a few years at the court of Kamran and learned to do Gold Bands. Of course that is just wild speculation since we can not at this point demonstrate convincingly that Abdullah was at the Court of Kamran. Although the dates certainly fit.

A small note on Kabul Politics in the mid sixteenth century: Humayun took Hindustan as his kingdom and set his brothers as kings of other lands. In 1540 Sher Khan drove Humayan from Hindustan. Sher Khan then took he name Sher Shah. Humayan sought aid from his brothers but they were not willing to lend full aid and comfort.

By 1544 Humayan crossed over into Safavi Persia. Humayan was able to gain the backing of Tahmasp Safavi Shahinshah of Persia after converting to Shia Islam. In 1545 Humayan entered the Mughal empire with an army. This started a 8 year war that finally resulted in Humayun entering Kabul as undisputed leader in 1553. At this point Humayan had his brother Kamran blinded and the court of Kamran was gone forever. Humayan ruled until his death in 1556. 16.

I am begining to suspect that Abdollah-e Mozahheb and Shaykh Muhammad may have been at the court of Kamran and worked under Duust Mohammad. I do not think this Shamse is the work of Abdollah-e Mozahheb but I think it is representative of the workshop where Abdollah-e Mozahheb took what he leaned in Shiraz and polished it under a master trained by Bihzad. Abdollah-e Mozahheb is very much a product of Shiraz but he also shows a refinement that can only come from studying under a great master such as Abdollah-e Mozahheb

becauies

Related work

• Plate 70: Ustad Abdollah
• A City Dweller Desecrates a Garden
• A Comparison of Figural Representation
• Pruning Scars as a Tool in Attribution
• Painter D as Abdol-Aziz?

1. Soudavar, Abolala. Art of the Persian Court. . New York: Rizzoli, 1992, pages 327 plate 133.
2. Simpson, Marianna Shreve, and Farhad, Massumeh. Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's Haft Awrang, A Princely Manuscript from Sixteenth-Century Iran. Page 142.
3. Soudavar, Abolala. Art of the Persian Court. . New York: Rizzoli, 1992, pages 327 plate 133.
4. Soudavar, Abolala. Art of the Persian Court. . New York: Rizzoli, 1992, pages 327 plate 133.
5. Soudavar, Abolala. Art of the Persian Court. . New York: Rizzoli, 1992, pages 231 plate 90A.
6. Soudavar, Abolala. Art of the Persian Court. . New York: Rizzoli, 1992, pages 327 plate 133.
7. Simpson, Marianna Shreve, and Farhad, Massumeh. Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's Haft Awrang, A Princely Manuscript from Sixteenth-Century Iran. Page 302, plate 206.
8. Soudavar, Abolala. Art of the Persian Court. . New York: Rizzoli, 1992, pages 327 plate 133.
9. Simpson, Marianna Shreve, and Farhad, Massumeh. Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's Haft Awrang, A Princely Manuscript from Sixteenth-Century Iran. Page 236 and 300, plate 138.
10. Welch, Stuart Cary. and Welch, Anthony Arts of the Islamic Book. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 1982. page 97.
11. Soudavar, Abolala. Art of the Persian Court. . New York: Rizzoli, 1992, pages 327 plate 133.
12. Soudavar, Abolala. Art of the Persian Court. . New York: Rizzoli, 1992, pages 231 plate 90A.
13. Soudavar, Abolala. Art of the Persian Court. . New York: Rizzoli, 1992, pages 327 plate 133.
14. Soudavar, Abolala. Art of the Persian Court. . New York: Rizzoli, 1992, pages 231 plate 90A.
15. Simpson, Marianna Shreve, and Farhad, Massumeh. Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's Haft Awrang, A Princely Manuscript from Sixteenth-Century Iran. Page 302, plate 206.
16. Richards, John F. The Mughal Empire. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Page 11

For Further Reading:

Thanks and best wishes,

J. Barry O'Connell Jr.

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