A Calligraphic Page by Gauhar Shad,
Daughter of Mir 'Imad

An illuminated album page of
Sufi poetryin nasta'liq script
By Gauhar Shad
Iran, Isfahan or Qazvin, circa 1620-1630 A.D.

Text: 225 by 120 mm., 8 7/8 by 4 ¾ in.;
album page: 382 by 259 mm., 15 by 10 ¼ in.

Persian manuscript on cream-coloured paper, four lines written diagonally in elegant nasta’liq script in black ink, back ground decorated with serrated leaves in gold and some colour, two triangular illuminated corner-pieces incorporating an invocation to God and the calligrapher’s signatures, inner borders with bands containing verses of poetry written in small nasta’liq script interspersed with illuminated medallions in colours and gold, inner margins ruled in colours and gold, outer borders of pink board lavishly decorated with intertwining floral motifs and serrated leaves in colours and gold

Inscriptions

Signed in nasta'liq as 'Gawharshad'

The Sufi verses in the small cartouches contain parts of the Gulshan-e Raz of Shaykh Mahmud Shabastari, a Sufi poet of the thirteenth-early fourteenth century. The verses are about purity achieved by removing sins, evil thoughts and actions. The main text consists of two couplets in praise of a certain Mahmud, perhaps referring to the same Mahmud Shabastari.

The Calligrapher

Gauhar Shad was the daughter of 'Imad al-Hasani, known as Mir 'Imad and considered one of the most celebrated calligraphers of the Safavid period. Very little is known about female calligraphers during this period, but according to Sheila Canby she married the calligrapher Mir Muhammad 'Ali and her three sons, Rashid, Abdu'l Razzaq and Yahya, followed in their parents' footsteps. After the assassination of Mir 'Imad in 1615, his family was persecuted and many of them emigrated to Turkey and India.

However, Gauhar Shad lived in Isfahan from 1615 until 1622 and then moved to Qazvin where she died in A.H. 1038/1628-9 A.D. Her recorded works are a copy of Sa'di's Gulistan dated A.H. 1025/1616 A.D. in the Gulistan Palace Library and a signed album page, Isfahan, dated A.H. 1030 /1620-21 A.D., in the Decorative Art Museum of Iran, Isfahan. See Bayani, p.49, no.11

Provenance

Private collection, England

References

Bayani, M., Ahval va athar-e khosh nevisan-e nasta'liq, vol. III, Tehran, 1348 sh.
Canby, S., Shah 'Abbas' Remaking of Iran, British Museum, London