Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (r. 1580-1612), Folio from an Illuminated Manuscript of the History of the Qutb Shahi Sultans of Golconda and Hyderabad

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Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (r. 1580-1612), Folio from an Illuminated Manuscript of the History of the Qutb Shahi Sultans of Golconda and Hyderabad

India, Telangana, Hyderabad, manuscript dated 1610-1611; illustrations: circa 1700
Manuscripts
Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper
Sheet: 12 1/2 × 7 1/8 in. (31.75 × 18.1 cm) Panel (Text): 8 7/8 × 4 1/2 in. (22.54 × 11.43 cm)
Anonymous gift (M.89.159.4b)
South and Southeast Asian Art
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

The Qutb Shahi dynasty (or the Golconda Sultanate, 1518–1687) ruled from Golconda Fort and, after 1591, nearby Hyderabad, Telangana....
The Qutb Shahi dynasty (or the Golconda Sultanate, 1518–1687) ruled from Golconda Fort and, after 1591, nearby Hyderabad, Telangana. It was founded in 1518 when Sultan Quli Qutb Shah (or Sultan Quli Qutb al-Mulk, r. 1496-1543) declared his independence from the Bahmani Sultanate (1347-1527), which splintered into the independent sultanates of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, and Berar in 1490; Golconda in 1518; and Bidar in 1528. This illuminated manuscript consists of 450 pages with five illustrations. Its colophon states it was copied by the scribe Habibullah Gilani in 1610-1611 (AH 1019) during the reign of Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (r. 1580-1612). The illustrations were likely added in circa 1700. Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (r. 1580-1612) was born in 1565. He was the fifth sultan of Golconda in the Qutb Shahi dynasty. In 1591 he founded the new capital city of Hyderabad and had constructed its celebrated epicenter, the Charminar (Four Towers) gateway and mosque. He was a poet and literary scholar of Urdu, Telegu, and Persian. The Kulliyat-e-Quli Qutub Shah of circa 1590-1595 is a compilation of his poetry. This manuscript is recorded in one of its provenance inscriptions as being prepared for his library. Unlike the other four Qutb Shahi Sultans portrayed in the manuscript, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah is represented riding an elephant rather than in a palatial or terrace setting. An attendant holds an honorific parasol over his head.
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Bibliography

  • Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Painting, vol.1. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1993.