Eskandar in a Tree Pavilion, India, ca. 1610, Opaque watercolour and gold on paper, AKM147
Persian, Indian, and European forms converge in this stunning painting of Alexander the Great (Eskandar). Seated in a pose that resembles that of the Mughal ruler Humayun, Eskandar wears a helmet engraved with the image of a horse -- perhaps his beloved Bucephalus -- that echoes the prancing animals at upper right. The helmet's Italian all'antica style ("in the manner of the ancients") both signals the adoption of European motifs in Mughal India and participates in a revival of the shared classical past epitomized by Alexander.
Dimensions: Material: opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Qur'an Anthology, China, second half of the 18th century, Ink, opaque watercolour, and gold on paper, AKM824,
"Glory to God" (subhan Allah) appears on the right-hand page as an ornate Arabic letter form upon a delicate floral background. The sweeping letter forms and particularly thin uprights show how the monumental thuluth script was adapted by Chinese scribes into the distinctively local sini form. The manuscript contains a compilation of Qur'anic chapters (surat) and illuminations, including the decorative roundel at left featuring a traditional Chinese symbol of good luck at its centre. Together with the Hebrew Bible at [TK], this book epitomizes the artistry of the scribe, as word and image become one.
Dimensions: 27.5 x 20 cm Material: ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Kamawa-sa, Myanmar (Burma), 19th century, Cloth, wood, lacquer, gold leaf, ROM, 2014.55.10.1,
This Burmese book of Buddhist scriptures (Kamawa-sa) includes selections written in Pali from the Tipitaka (literally, "three baskets") of Therevada, the most ancient form of Buddhism. Costly and ornate Kamawa-sa were written on cloth or palm leaves in chunky, square tamarind-seed script (magyi si sar), and offered as gifts to a monastery to commemorate the taking of religious vows. Sometimes the cloth pages were made from the robe of a respected elder monk, lacquered and coated in gold.
Dimensions: 16 x 57.5 cm Material: lacquer and gold leaf on cloth, wood
Bhagavad Gita , India, Kashmir, 17th"19th century, Carbon black ink and pigments on paper with textile covering, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, MSS 01106,
The contents (Sanskrit text and Hindu iconography), materials (Islamic burnished paper and Indian textiles), and format (Islamic-style binding of this manuscript of the Hindu Bhagavad Gita) all illuminate the fecund encounter of Persian and South Asian cultures in the valley of Kashmir. Poised for battle against his kinsmen, the prince Arjuna cannot go on. At this crucial moment, his chariot driver, the god Krishna in disguise, suddenly reveals himself as a manifestation of Vishnu, encompassing all gods and even the universe itself. Arjuna's princely dress and courtly posture are those of the Muslim Mughal court, while Krishna's unveiling draws upon Hindu concepts of the holy. This manuscript also tells a complex story of book technology and cultural entanglement. Micro-CT analysis (seen at [TK]) confirms that its exquisite Indian mashru fabric, imported from Gujarat, extends around the whole cover, beneath the plain overlayer. The book has an Islamic-style pentagonal flap binding, but because Sanskrit is read in the opposite direction from Arabic and Persian, that flap wraps around on the right rather than the left.
Dimensions: 15.5 x 12.0 x 5.7cm (lwh) (+11.3 for the flap) Material: carbon black ink and pigments on paper, textile
Mishneh Torah, Sefer hafla"ah, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides), Yemen, 1498, Ink on paper, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Friedberg MSS 5-021
The Mishneh Torah, not to be confused with the early medieval Mishnah seen in the eleventh-century manuscript pages appearing earlier in the exhibition, was composed by the Sephardic Jewish philosopher and physician Maimonides (1138-1204). Born in Cordoba, Spain, Maimonides wrote his major works in Morocco and Egypt, and his commentary on Jewish law in the Mishneh Torah has been deeply important to all Jewish communities, particularly Sephardic diasporic communities as well as the Jews of Yemen. The owner of this volume has noted the births of two of his children on the first leaf and included a blessing, demonstrating how a book of religious law can also contain tender personal family histories. This copy of the Mishneh Torah is written on burnished paper, an Islamic technique that gives a sheen to the sheets and makes them easier to write on.
Dimensions: 28.9 x 21.8 x 5.0cm Material: ink on paper
Hebrew Bible, Spain, Toledo, Kislev 5068 / December 1307 , ink on parchment , Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Friedberg MSS 5-001
This Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) was written and decorated in 1307 in Christian-ruled Toledo at a time when Jewish life in Spain was becoming increasingly difficult, culminating in the final expulsion of Jews as well as Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492. Possibly commissioned for personal family use rather than for a synagogue, this manuscript is punctuated by pages of intricate and playful geometric designs, such as the rhythmic wavy lines made up of Hebrew characters seen here. Along with the exact date, the gifted scribe has included his name in the colophon: Yosef ben Yehudah ben Meryas.
Dimensions: 26.8 x 23.0 x 8.7; 23.0 x 16.0 x 9.9 Material: ink on parhcment
Manuscript leaf from the Baysunghur Shahnameh Manuscript. The illustration depicts a scene from Mahsan al-Asrar (Treasury of Secrets) with an encounter between Sultan Sanjar and an Old Woman
Baysunghur Shahnameh Manuscript, Timurid Dynasty
Berlin State Museums (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin); ARTSTOR
Mosaic floor pattern depicting a scene between lovers, Metiochus and Parthenope from a Greek tale.
Painting of King Solomon's seated on a gold throne above a congregation of creatures and beings. The image was likely intended to demonstrate the King's influence over the realm of animals, angels, celestial beings and demons. The horned human-like creatures bear a strong resemblance to Islamic artistic representations of the Jinn, a demon or genie, a mythological invisible evil force. In Islamic tales and within the Qur'an, Solomon is referenced as the ruler of the Jinn.
Robe Embroidery of Sultan Sanjar and the Old Woman
Side view of the Aga Khan Museum's PS24, Robe. Embroidered illustration of Sultan Sanjar and the Old Woman. Depicts a scene from the Treasury of Secrets epic poem written in the Shahnameh.