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Home , Muraqqa, Nastaliq, Persian miniature

Nomination form International Memory of the World Register

The St. Petersburg — Album of Indian and Persian Miniatures from the 16th through the 18th Century and Specimens of Persian 2016-27 1.0 Summary (max 200 words)

The album of Indian and Persian miniatures known as the “St. Petersburg Muraqqa” is a unique collection of art created in the course of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries by 17 artists of the Mughal and Deccan schools of (now very scarcely existed), and the school of . Each leaf is added with specimens of by the most celebrated master of style Mir ‘Iamd al- Hasani of (1554-1615). The Muraqqa was assembled mainly of the works looted by Nadir Shah during his invasion in India in 1739. It was kept like a precious jewel in Iran, in the Shah’s library and was purchased in Tehran in 1910 for the Russian emperor Nicholas II. Today it is preserved in the collection of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts in St. Petersburg. The album consists of 98 folia sized 33×47.5 cm. Each folio is decorated with miniatures on a variety of topics: among them are scenes of court life, hunt and battle, royal portraits, images of saints, species of flora and fauna. The St. Petersburg Muraqqa is one of the highest achievements of mankind and preserves the irreplaceable works of the artists, who influenced the Indian and Persian world.

2.0 Nominator 2.1 Name of nominator Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences (IOM RAS).

2.2 Relationship to the nominated documentary heritage Keeper of the documentary heritage.

2.4 Contact details Name Address Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Dvortsovaya Emb. 18, Russian Academy of Sciences 191186 St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

Telephone Facsimile Email 7(812)315-87-28 7(812)315-87-28 [email protected], [email protected]

3.0 Identity and description of the documentary heritage 3.1 Name and identification details of the items being nominated Name: “St. Petersburg Muraqqa”. Album of Indian and Persian Miniatures from the 16th through the 18th Century and Specimens of Persian Calligraphy.

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3.4 History/provenance The Muraqqa was purchased in Tehran during the sale of the Shah’s Library in 1910 for the Russian Emperor Nicholas II. The Emperor later presented the album to the State Russian Museum as a personal gift. All folia bear the stamp of the Ethnography Department of the Russian Museum. In 1921 Muraqqa was transferred to the Asiatic Museum (today — the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, RAS). The inventory book of 1921 bears the following statement (No 1390): “Album of Persian-Indian miniatures. 100 f. in leather binding. Received from the Russian Museum”. The inventory book of 1954 states that Muraqqa consists of 98 folia (ff. 28 and 33 are missing). The two missing folia are in fact preserved in the Museum of the History of Religion in St. Petersburg, where they were transferred for a temporary exhibition in the 1930-s. There are no inside front covers that could provide information on the history of the album prior to its acquisition by the Russian monarch. The verses written on one of the covers mention the years 1734–35 and a man named Mirza Mahdi as the patron, which could refer to the famous historiographer of Nadir Shah — Mirza Mahdi (an assumption which has not been proven). However, one cannot be sure that this cover was initially crafted for this particular album (the binding was created earlier than all its folia could be put together). Most of the miniatures in the album are of Indian origin (late 16th — early 18th century), and were brought to Iran after Nadir Shah invaded India in 1739. When Muraqqa was compiled, the Indian were complemented by Persian miniatures of the 17th–18th centuries, and specimens of calligraphy by Mir Imad al-Hasani (1554–1615). The margins and frames of the folia were decorated by three Persian painters in the 1750-s.

4.0 Legal information 4.1 Owner of the documentary heritage (name and contact details) Russian Federation

4.2 Custodian of the documentary heritage (name and contact details if different from the owner) Name Address Institute of Oriental Dvortsovaya Emb. 18, Manuscripts, Russian 191186 St. Petersburg, Academy of Sciences Russian Federation Telephone Facsimile Email 7(812)315-87-28 7(812)315-87-28

4.3 Legal status The responsibility for the preservation of “St Petersburg Muraqqa” is charged on the Institute of 2

Oriental Manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences

4.4 Accessibility Work with the original copies at the library: Muraqqa is preserved at the Department of Manuscripts and Documents of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences (IOM RAS). To access it one must provide a letter from the academic institution where /she is employed or studies. Applicants with no affiliation can provide a personal letter and a copy of ID. The applications are considered and singed by Director of IOM RAS. The requested miniatures from Muraqqa are then provided to the reader to work in the reading hall of IOM RAS. Electronic copies: If smb. requires an electronic copy of certain pages of Muraqqa, he/she must apply by e-mail to the Department of Manuscripts and Documents of IOM RAS stating the aims of this requirement (research, publication, etc.). Security copies: Digital security copies of all the pages of the Muraqqa are preserved at IOM RAS. Exhibitions: Muraqqa has been exhibited several times in full or in separate folia since its acquisition in 1910. The whole Album was demonstrated at the exhibition organized for the 3rd International Congress on Iranian Art and Archaeology at the State Hermitage in 1935. Selected miniatures were presented at temporary exhibitions at the State Hermitage in 1955 and 1967. In 1995–97 the album was displayed internationally: at the Petit Palais in Paris, the Villa Favorita in Lugano, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts plans to continue to exhibit the Album in the future.

4.5 Copyright status The copyright belongs to the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences.

5.0 Assessment against the selection criteria 5.1 Authenticity. The authenticity of Muraqqa has not been questioned, while the origin and attribution of the calligraphy and paintings have been thoroughly studied by the international research community. The date 1147 AH (which corresponds to 1734–35 AD) is written on the cover, accompanying the versed eulogy that opens Muraqqa (the total numeric value of all the letters in each line of the poem equals 1147). In the margins of the folia and on the ornamental frames there are names and dates written by the three artists who worked on the album in the 1750-s: Muhammad Hadi, Muhammad 3

Baqir and Muhammad Sadiq. A significant number of miniatures are signed by well-known painters.

5.2 World significance The St. Petersburg Muraqqa album is an irreplaceable part of the world cultural heritage as one of the few collections of Indian and art, as well as Persian calligraphy, in which works of such high artistic value are combined. The paintings are a source of knowledge for various fields of arts and sciences, making the album a promising object of study for historians, art experts, philologists, palaeographers and biologists. The St. Peresburg Muraqqa is one of the highest achievements of mankind and preserves the works of the artists, who influenced the Indian and Persian painting world.

5.3 Comparative criteria: 1 Time Muraqqa is a precious visual chronicle of its time. Accurately shown in the finest details of the miniatures are both the greater historical events and the smaller details of costumes, jewels, weapons, furniture, architecture, the plumage of birds and the faces of people. Some of the artists are known to have painted from nature. One of the paintings contains a detailed image of raphus cucullatus, i. e. the long extinct bird dodo, which was depicted by Ustad Mansur, who most probably had the chance to observe the bird in the zoo of the emperor . The portraits of Jahangir himself (created by Manohar Das) are painted in such anatomic detail that one can trace the physical changes of the aging emperor’s appearance. The process of the Muraqqa’s creation, although largely a mystery, is, too, a reflection of its time. The painters who worked on decorating Muraqqa in Iran took years to finish the work. That was a period of political turbulence: the assassination of Nadir Shah in 1747 led his empire to anarchy and struggle for power. It was during these dark times that the work on this magnificent piece of art went on. The painting of a number of margins and borders was not completed in the 1750-s, and they remain unfinished.

2 Place A number of miniatures depict landscapes, giving a detailed account of the nature and architecture in India and Iran of the period.

3 People The miniatures depict eminent historical figures (a series of portraits of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, his son , Shah Shuja, Asaf Khan and others), the nobility, as well as unknown individuals in numerous scenes of court life, religious life, hunt and battle. Here people of different cultures interact peacefully: one of the many examples in the earliest in the album, depicting the Mughals during their visit to an encampment of sadhu (Indian religious ascetics), in which the Iranian artist Mir Sayyid-Ali portrays the sadhus as seen by a curious foreigner.

4 Subject and theme Much of what is represented in Muraqqa was gathered by and for Iranians, who were drawn to India not only by its legendary jewels but for its technology and wisdom. Culturally, we can speak about the turn in Iranian art for the Indian artistic tradition, which flourished under the Mughal Emperor, , a cultivated patron of art, poetry and music.

5 Form and style

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The exclusive value of Muraqqa lies in the mixed character of the art presented on its pages. Most of the miniatures are of Indian origin, they were created in the period from the late 16th century to the 1730-s and belong to the Mughal school. They represent the period of the formation and development of a number of significant schools in miniature painting of the region, and allow to trace the changes in style that occurred in that period. Some of the paintings are versions of European and Persian works of art. There are 20 miniatures of Persian origin, and 17 of them belong to the Isfahan school of the second half of the 17th century — a period not very well known and studied. The album thus provides valuable material for researchers and admirers of 17th century . It was also the period when the local painting styles and techniques were influenced by the European ones (such as perspective, the use of light and shade, etc.). This tendency that can be traced in both the style and the themes of the paintings in the “St. Petersburg Muraqqa” album. Finally, the album contains three Persian miniatures from the mid 18th century — a period not very well presented in other collections. Muraqqa is one of the richest collections of calligraphic art created by the royal calligrapher Mir ‘Iamd al-Hasani — the most renowned master of Persian calligraphy of the late 16th–early 17th century, famous as the greatest master of the handwriting style nastaliq. The album contains 33 examples of his exercises (), while most of the calligraphic specimens are fragments of verse or prose, including verses written by ‘Imad al-Hasani himself.

6 Social/ spiritual/ community significance: The pages of Muraqqa, although predominated by the Islamic theme, demonstrate a remarkable intermixture of cultures and religions. The miniatures portray Hindu sages and ascetics, Muslim mystics and sages, repeatedly touch upon Christian religious themes (images of the Holy Family, Madonna) and scenes from the Old Testament. Among the miniatures is the painting “Venus and Cupid”, copied by the Persian artist Muhammad Zaman from the engraving by the Flemish master R. Sadeler. The vicinity of these paintings gives them additional value.

6.0 Contextual information 6.1 Rarity In terms of artistic and cultural value the “St. Petersburg Muraqqa” can only be compared with the two famous albums Muraqqa-i Jahangir and Muraqqa-i Gulshan created in 17th century India for the Great Mughals. 6.2 Integrity The question of Muraqqa’s integrity is a complicated matter. It is known that it contained 100 folia when it arrived in Russia in 1910. However, the researchers assume that its original structure was different. Another 26 folia preserved in different collections all over the world have been identified as belonging to this album: 7 ff in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D. C., USA, 1 f. in the Fogg Art Museum in Cambridge, USA, 1 f. in the , 1 f. in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2 ff. in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington D. C., 1 f. in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, and 13 ff. in private collections. A detailed account of the matter is given by Anatoly Ivanov in his article that introduces the publication of the album in 1996 — an edition in which the abovementioned 26 miniatures were reproduced along with the 100 ff. preserved in St. Petersburg (for details see: The St. Petersburg Muraqqa: Album of Indian and Persian Miniatures from the 16th through the 18th Century and Specimens of Persian Calligraphy. Art Books Intl Ltd., pp. 20–22).

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