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Lot 1008
THE MI'RAJ (THE ASCENT OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD TO HEAVEN)
SCHOOL OF REZA 'ABBASI, ISFAHAN, IRAN, SECOND QUARTER 17TH CENTURY
Closed10 May 2018
Price Realised
USD 50,000
More Information
Specialist note
The inscription in French on the mount reads: Souvenir à Mr. Petermann de son séjour à Bagdad (signed) g. g. m. del l’Europe etc. Mehmed Beschur Pascha le 14 mars 1855.
The inscription is a ruba‘i (quatrain) praising the prophet Muhammad by the well-known Shi’a Safavid poet Mirza Ibrahim Adham, son of Mirza Muhammad Razi Artmani. Mirza Ibrahim was the student of Mir Muhammad Baqir Damad Astarabadi Esfahani.
Persian poets from the turn of the fourteenth century onward illustrated their epics with a colourful description of the mi‘raj, the heavenly journey that brought the Prophet into the presence of God. These compositions most often serve as pictorial eulogies to the Prophet, since they portray angels presenting platters containing jewels, incense burners, a crown, and flames. In this miniature, the Prophet is shown rising amidst golden flames with his face veiled, riding on the mysterious mount Buraq who is led by the angel Gabriel. With both hands raised as if in speech, he is flanked by angels with fantastic wings, adorned in Safavid robes typical of the period.
The scene is modelled on Safavid mi‘raj pictures such as the scene from the Khamsa of Nizami, attributed to Sultan Muhammad, dated 1539-43, housed in the British Library (see J. Thompson et al., Hunt for Paradise, exhibition catalogue, Milan, 2003, p. 22, fig. 1.6 and p.115 fig. 4.29) and the mi’raj illustration in the Falnama of Ja‘far al-Sadiq, attributed to Aqa Mirak c.1550 housed in the Freer Sackler Gallery, Washington, D.C., inv. no. S1896.253.
The colour palette used with the wide range of purples, blues and oranges are stylistically typical of those used by Reza 'Abbasi and his students such as Mu‘in. The facial features illustrate the work of a close follower of Reza and can be confidently attributed to his school.
The inscription is a ruba‘i (quatrain) praising the prophet Muhammad by the well-known Shi’a Safavid poet Mirza Ibrahim Adham, son of Mirza Muhammad Razi Artmani. Mirza Ibrahim was the student of Mir Muhammad Baqir Damad Astarabadi Esfahani.
Persian poets from the turn of the fourteenth century onward illustrated their epics with a colourful description of the mi‘raj, the heavenly journey that brought the Prophet into the presence of God. These compositions most often serve as pictorial eulogies to the Prophet, since they portray angels presenting platters containing jewels, incense burners, a crown, and flames. In this miniature, the Prophet is shown rising amidst golden flames with his face veiled, riding on the mysterious mount Buraq who is led by the angel Gabriel. With both hands raised as if in speech, he is flanked by angels with fantastic wings, adorned in Safavid robes typical of the period.
The scene is modelled on Safavid mi‘raj pictures such as the scene from the Khamsa of Nizami, attributed to Sultan Muhammad, dated 1539-43, housed in the British Library (see J. Thompson et al., Hunt for Paradise, exhibition catalogue, Milan, 2003, p. 22, fig. 1.6 and p.115 fig. 4.29) and the mi’raj illustration in the Falnama of Ja‘far al-Sadiq, attributed to Aqa Mirak c.1550 housed in the Freer Sackler Gallery, Washington, D.C., inv. no. S1896.253.
The colour palette used with the wide range of purples, blues and oranges are stylistically typical of those used by Reza 'Abbasi and his students such as Mu‘in. The facial features illustrate the work of a close follower of Reza and can be confidently attributed to his school.