Arts of the Islamic World & India including Fine Rugs and Carpets
Arts of the Islamic World & India including Fine Rugs and Carpets
Mir Hasan Dihlavi, Sihr al-Bayan, ‘The Enchantment of Story-telling’, North India, Awadh, early 19th century
Auction Closed
October 26, 12:30 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
gouache and ink on paper, 92 folios, 13 lines of nasta´liq script in black ink, in two columns within black and gold and red rules, chapter headings and concluding couplet in red, the colophon of 4 lines on the last folio, also in red removed, an illuminated heading on f.1r. and 21 illustrations, owner’s seal of Raja Purushottan(?) Narayan Deb Bahadur dated 1271 AH/1854-55 AD) owner's name further written in a 19th century European hand on f.92v, pages re-marginated, brown leather binding with stamped medallions and ochre rules
30 by 22.7cm.
The miniatures are as follows:
f.14v. The birth of Prince Benazir in the palace zenana of the King, who sits in the courtyard entertained by dancers.
f.16r. Benzir as a child with ladies of the court in the garden created for him by his father.
f.25v. The peri Mahrukh carries off Benazir as he was sleeping on the palace roof at the age of 12.
f.30r. Benazir and the peri in a pavilion on the terrace of her palace.
f.31v. Mahrukh gives Benazir the magic horse so that he can ride out but extracts a promise that he will not give his heart to another.
f.33r. Benazir hides in the garden of Badr-i Munir.
f.37r. Badr-i Munir sitting in her garden with attendants.
f.39r. Benazir and Badr-i Munir see each other and swoon.
f.40r. Badr-i Munir walks away from Benazir while her companion, Najm al-Nisa advises her to enjoy the pleasures of love.
f.42v. Najm al-Nisa persuades Badr-i Munir and brings Benazir to her room.
f.43v. Badr-i Munir, Benazir and Najm al-Nisa sit together in the courtyard.
f.44v. Benazir makes his excuses and leaves Badr-i Munir.
f.48v. Badr-i Munir walks in the garden with her companion.
f.49r. Benazir drags Badr-i Munir towards the bed.
f.50r. Benazir and Badr-i Munir make love.
f.52v. (orig. 53) The jinn sit around the well into which Benazir has been thrown as punishment for his love of Badr-i Munir.
f.59r. (60) Aish Bai dances to entertain and console Badr-i Munir.
f.61v. (62) Najm al-Nisa tells the restless Badr-i Munir that she will go and look for Benazir.
f.69r. (72) Najm al-Nisa disguised as a yogi plays the vina to Firoz Shah’s father as the prince watches her from a palace chamber.
f.72v. (75) Najm al-Nisa tells Firoz Shah about her mission while a jinn waits to obey his orders to rescue Benazir.
f.78r. (81) The two pairs of lovers sit together in the palace courtyard.
f.83v. (85) Benazir and Firoz Shah riding together holding flower wands.
f.86r. (89/90) Firoz Shah being entertained by a dancer and musicians during his marriage to Najm al-Nisa.
The eminent writer and poet Mir Hasan Dihlavi was born in Delhi but spent most of his life at the court of Awadh. Mir Hasan Dihlavi wrote Sihr al-Bayan in 1785 dedicating it to the local ruler Nawab Asaf al-Dawla. Written in Urdu the masnavi poem is made up of 2200 verse lines and tells the story of Prince Benazir and his love for Princess Badr-i Munir, the kidnap of the Prince by the enamoured fairy Mahrukh and the eventual reuniting of the lovers in marriage.
The owner’s seal inscription appears to give the name Purushottam. It is likely that the owner must have been either one of the taluqdars of Awadh or a landowner in Bengal, and may have been a kayastha, a member of the administrative caste who were fluent in Urdu and Persian.