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I Would Like to Acknowledge the Help and Support of My Supervisor I would like to acknowledge the help and support of my supervisor, Professor Emeritus, Michael Rogers for countless invaluable intellectual jousts and for his original idea to study theKhamsa of Nizamf in depth. I thank the Ouseley Memorial Trust and SOAS for two years of scholarship funding. I would also like to thank Dr Isa Waley at the British Library for giving me unfettered access to the manuscript in question and to Dr Andrew Topsfield for reading chapter two. I would also like to tliank Robert Skelton and Dr Barbara Brend for their help and detailed clarifications on numerous occasions. I thank Dr Anna Contadini for her help and cooperation on my visit to the Chester Beatty Libraiy, Dublin in 1996; I am also similarly gratefiil to Colin Wakefield at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, Peter Me Niven at the John Rylands Libraiy, Manchester, Peter Hardie at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, and Susan Strong at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the help of friends Dr David Angluin, Firuza Pastakia and Malcolm Sired, and to thank them many times over for their proof-reading skills and emotional and intellectual support, all of which are so vital in enterprises of this kind. ProQuest Number: 10672679 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10672679 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Painting Awareness: A Study into the Use of Exotic Cultural Traditions by the Artists of the Emperor Akbar’s K ham sa of Nizami Gregory Minissale School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, September, 2000. 2 Abstract The main objective of this doctoral research is to analyse a group of miniature paintings produced between 1593 and 1595 for the Mughal Indian Emperor Akbar, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. These miniatures are illustrations in a manuscript of five epic poems (known as the Khamsa) by the Persian poet NiZaml (1141-1209). This manuscript is now in the British Library (Or. 12, 208). It is the argument of this thesis that more than any other Mughal illustrated manuscript, the painting in the Khamsa exemplifies a refined synthesis of the artistic traditions of three major cultures with which the Mughals came into contact: the European, Persian and earlier Indian. Many elements in the illustrations may be traced back to these origins. The miniatures represent the finest of Akbar period painting. This is true in terms of finish and technique but the paintings of the Khamsa of NiZaml are also important because they mark the use of a new visual language in painting to convey complex thoughts and ideas. Knowledge of other artistic traditions led the Mughals to adjust their own painting. The thesis demonstrates that the paintings of theKhamsa of NiZaml are an extraordinary record of the elevated status of the art of painting at the Mughal court. CHAPTER I The Emperor Akbar’s Kham sa of Nizami List of Illustrations 06 Introduction 10 The Manuscript 12 Margin Designs 15 General Characteristics of the Painting in the K ham sa 17 The Scale of the Miniatures 20 The Festaiuolo 22 The Artists of the K ham sa 26 B h u ra 27 Khem Karan 43 BulaqI 28 Lacl 43 Farrukh Chela 33 Madha Chela 44 D hanraj 36 M addu Dharmdasa 36 Khana-zad 44 Nand Gvaliyarl 39 Madhav 45 Bhim Gujarati 40 Manohar 46 Sur Gujarati 40 Misklna 47 Jaganath 41 Mukund 50 Kanak Singh Nanha 51 Chela 41 Narsingh 52 Khvaja cAbd al-Samad 42 Sanvala 53 4 CHAPTER II Features From Pre-Mughal and Early Mughal Painting ___________56 Representations of the Imperial Mughal Court 59 Costumes 63 Animals and Pastoral Scenes 69 Architecture 74 Trees 77 Other Aspects Indebted to Earlier Manuscript Painting 79 A Humayun Period K ham sa 82 The Keir K ham sa 85 The SOAS-Bristol Sharaf-name 87 CHAPTER III The Influence of Persian Painting_______________________________ 93 The Transference of Compositions from Persian to Indian Painting 94 The Shiraz Connection 99 The Makhzan al-Asrar 105 Khusrau va Shinn 115 Layla va Majnun 121 The Haft Paykar 128 The Iskandar-name 133 5 CHAPTER IV European Influences___________________________________________ 149 The Impact of European Art on Mughal Albums and Miniatures 165 The Impact of European Art on theK ham sa 175 CHAPTER V Reflexivitv and Meaning in theK h a m sa _______________________ 183 Reflexivity in Mughal Art 186 The Uses of Reflexivity 191 Conclusion 205 Appendix:The SOAS-Bristol Sharaf-name 213 Bibliography 221 6 List of Illustrations and Photographic Credits All pictures o f miniatures from the Dyson PerrinsKhamsa are taken from B. Brend, The Emperor Akbar’s Khamsa of Nizam i (London, British Library, 1995), unless stated otherwise. 1. Majnun Mourns His Father’s Death, British Library Khamsa o f Ni©amJ (Or. 12, 208), £ 132a. 2. The King is Carried Off by a Giant Bird - The Story of the Princess of the Black Pavilion (Or. 12, 208), f. 195a. 3. Sanjarand the Old Woman (Or. 12, 208), f. 15b. 4. Faridun and the Gazelle (Or. 12, 208), f. 19a.a 5. Afldtun Playing Music to the Animals, (Or. 12,208), f. 298a. 6. The Disputing Physicians, (Or. 12, 208), f. 23b. 7. Detail from The Unfaithful Wife, Bodleian Library Baharistdn, MS. Elliot 254,£ 42v. Reproduced in E. Wellesz, Akbar's Religious Thought, Reflected in Mogul Painting (London, 1 9 5 2 ).cit., 1952, pi. 28. 8. Iskandar Builds a Wall Between the Peoples of Gog and Magog, BM 1982. 5-29. 01. J. M. Rogers, Mughal Miniatures,(London, 1993), fig. 57, p. 89. 9. The Weighing of Prince Khurram, loose leaf, originally from Jahdngir-ndma,a now British Museum 1948.10 9.69. Rogers, ibid., fig. 58, p. 92. 10. Detail from Hamya-nama, publ. H. Gluck, Die Indischen Miniaturen des Haemgae-Romanes (Vienna, 1925). Tafel 12 (W.32). 11. Shdpur Brings Khusrau News of Shinn (Or. 12, 208), £ 52a. Detail. 12. Iskandar and the Dying Ddrd (Or. 12, 208), £ 26b (Walters Art Gallery, 631). 13. Battle of the Clans (Or. 12, 208), £ 159a. 14. Bahrdm GurSeiges the Crown of Iran (Or. 12, 208), £ 184b. 15. TheQipchdq Women Veil Themselves (Or. 12, 208), £ 266b. 16. Iskandar and Nushdba Entertained (Or. 12, 208), £ 244b. 17. Khusrau Goes Hunting (Or. 12, 208), £ 82a. 18. Shirin Entertains Khusrau (Or. 12, 208), £ 65a. 19. The Champion ofRus , £ 273a 20. The Death of Majnun on the Grave of Eayld (Or. 12, 208), £ 165b. 21. Ni©dmi Presents His Son to the Son of the Shirvdnshdh (Or. 12, 208), £ 117a. 22. Detail, o f inscription on £117a (Or. 12, 208). 23. Majnun and Layla Faint (Or. 12, 208), £ 123a 24. Shirin Kills Herself at the Grave of Khusrau (Or. 12, 208), £ 102a. 25. Khusrau Carouses, (Or. 12, 208), £ 40b. 26. Majnun With His Father, (Or. 12, 208), £153b. 27. IskandarTravels Through the Land of Magic Stones (Or. 12, 208), £ 312b. 28. Iskandar Assumes the Crown of Iran (Or. 12, 208), £ 34a (Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, 613). 29. M aui Painting the Lid of a Well, (Or. 12, 208), f. 262b. 30. The Princess Paints a Self-Portrait — Story of the Princess of the Red Pavilion (Or. 12, 208), £ 206a. 31. Klr/jr Washing Iskandar’s Horse in the Fountain of Life (Or. 12, 208), £ 281a. 32. Khusrau Consults Bu^u/g Umid About Shiruya (Or. 12, 208), £ 99b. 33. Shdpur Before Shirin detail (Or. 12, 208), £ 45b. 34. Khusrau Defeats Bahrdm Chubin (Or. 12, 208), £ 72a. 35. Klmsrau and Shirin Meet Hunting (Or. 12, 208), £ 63b. 36. Iskandar Watches the Invention of Mirrors (Or. 12, 208), £ 16b (Walters Art Gallery 613). 37. The Seven Sages (Or. 12, 208), £ 305a. 38. Khusrau Honoured with Gifts (Or. 12, 208), £ 54a. 39. Farhad Before Khusrau (Or. 12, 208), £ 5a (Walters Art Gallery 613). 40. Majnun Visited by bis Mother and Uncle (Or. 12, 208), £ 150b. 41. The Garden of Bathing Women —Story Told by the Princess of the White Pavilion (Or. 12, 208), £ 220a. 42. The Priestess of Kandahar Beseeches Iskandar (Or. 12, 208), £ 317b. 43. The Priestess of Kandahar Beseeches Iskandar (Or. 12,208), £ 318a. 44. Infantryman, Victoria and Albert Museum, Hamcyi-ndma, detail, publ. D, Nicholle, Mughal India 1504 1761 (London, 1993), p. 10. 7 45. Detail o f folio from theTuti-nama, Cleveland Museum o f Art, Ohio, publ. iM&11 Kuu v ChJrVft "be’cole de. Shiraz et les origines de la miniature moghole” in R. Pinder-Wilson, ed.,Paintings From Islamic Lands (Oxford, 1969). 46. Iskandar Shown Gifts from the Kayd, f. 254a (Or. 12, 208). 47. Donkey and Buffalo Yolked to an Arhat, British Museum 1921.4-11.04, publ. J. M. Rogers,Mughal Miniatures (London, 1993), p. 44. 48. Dimna is Condemned, cIyar-i-Danish, A. Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. 49. Bahrdm Gur Seizes the Crown of Iran, Goloubew Collection, Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Publ. A.K. Coomaraswamy in A rs Asiatica XIII 'Les Miniatures Orientales de la Collection Goloubew au Musee Fine Arts, Boston' (Paris and Brussels, 1929), pi.
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