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Collections

Attributed to Muhammad Khan
Sultan Muhammad Adil Shah of Bijapur (r. 1627-1656) (verso), Calligraphy (recto)circa 1650-1675 (verso), 1717-1718 (recto)

Not on view
Illuminated manuscript page with nested decorative borders in gold, sage green, and cobalt blue surrounding a central panel of dense diagonal Persian or Arabic nasta'liq calligraphy in dark brown ink on cream ground
Mughal miniature painting, seated male figure in three-quarter view wearing pearl necklaces, jeweled ornaments, and gold-trimmed robes, holding a sword across his lap; an attendant with a yellow fly-whisk stands behind against a green background; framed by orange borders with a Persian inscription panel below, mounted on a blue-gray decorated page.
Artist or Maker
Attributed to Muhammad Khan
India, active circa 1640-1655
Artist or Maker
Possibly Nadir al-Zaman Mahdi
India, active 1600-1630, born 1588
Title
Sultan Muhammad Adil Shah of Bijapur (r. 1627-1656) (verso), Calligraphy (recto)
Place Made
India, Karnataka, Bijapur (verso); India, Deccan (recto)
Date Made
circa 1650-1675 (verso), 1717-1718 (recto)
Medium
Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper
Dimensions
Image (recto): 5 3/8 x 2 7/8 in. (13.65 x 7.3 cm); Image (verso): 5 7/8 x 3 13/16 in. (14.92 x 9.68 cm); Sheet: 16 3/16 x 10 5/8 in. (41.12 x 26.99 cm)
Credit Line
Purchased with funds provided by The Smart Family Foundation through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar G. Richards
Accession Number
M.87.61
Classification
Drawings
Collecting Area
South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes

Verso: Sultan Muhammad Adil Shah of Bijapur (r. 1627-1656) ascended the throne at age fifteen to become the seventh ruler of Bijapur in the Adil Shahi dynasty (1490-1686). He signed a peace treaty in 1636 with the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1627-1658) after joining the Mughals in their military campaigns against the Ahmednagar Sultanate (1490-1636). Muhammad Adil Shah expanded Bijapur’s dominions substantially and was a munificent patron of the arts and architecture. He is buried in the Gol Gumbaz mausoleum in Bijapur. Another portrait of Muhammad Adil Shah by Muhammad Khan is in the San Diego Museum of Art (1990.442). See also M.76.2.35. Below the margins in the center of the page (but not visible in the photograph) is an identifying inscription written in a Deccani or Gujarati variety of the Devanagari script that reads, “Chief King Mira Shah” (padshamirasha). Mira Shah was a title of Muhammad Adil Shah. The page is mounted with a blue green border with flowering plants in gold.

Recto: A page of unconnected Persian couplets and quatrains in the shikasta script. An inscription at the bottom of the page that reads, “the work of the wonder of the age, Mahdi(?)” (kar-i-nadir-al-zaman Mahdi(?)). The signature in the top left corner of the central panel may have been defaced and is illegible. However, there is a date of 1717-1718 (AH 1130). The page is mounted with a blue green border with flowering plants in gold set within cartouches.

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