A Group of Learned Men under a tree

This miniature depicts a group of holy men in learned discussion under a tree in a landscape, while some of their companions prepare and arrange refreshments. It is finely executed in the characterisation of the figures, particularly the treatment of their faces and the wrinkled skin, as well as the variety of facial types and expressions. A notable feature is the figure on the lower right, who looks out directly at the viewer, engaging our attention.

Christie's London, June 13 1983, lot 135
Pan Asian Collection
Richard B. Gump, California

The borders identify this page as coming from a royal album known as the Nasir al-Din Shah Album, after the Qajar monarch in whose possession it was during part of the 19th century. Of the approximately one hundred and sixteen folios originally in the album, fourteen are in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin and at least twenty are disbursed. For a full discussion of the album see E. Wright, Muraqqa': Imperial Mughal Albums from the Chester Beatty Library, Alexandria (Virginia), 2008, pp.140-149, 413-427, 471. The present example appears to be a new addition to the list. While the majority of folios have borders decorated with naturalistic flowers, ibid. nos.73-76, at least two have borders with more stylised decoration of scrolling flowers heads and leafy tendrils, coloured brightly in gold, red, orange, blue, green and white, ibid. nos. 77-78, pp. 424-427. Of these the second (ibid. no.78) has a design identical to the present example, with the important diagnostic feature of internal variegated decoration within the central tear-drop shape of the pointed flower-heads, which can also be seen on the present borders, as well as almost identical dimensions (the Chester Beatty leaves measure between 33.3 and 33.7cm for the vertical edge, and 20.9 and 22.4cm for the horizontal edge; those of the present page are 33 by 21cm).

The present leaf also bears an inscription – as yet undeciphered – in very small Persian characters at the upper left of the border, which appears to contain the letters  a n r k (?).