Nizami Ganjavi (d.1209), Sharafnameh and Makhzan al-Asrar, signed by Shah Mahmud Nishapuri, Persia, Safavid, dated 940 AH/1533 AD

Shah Mahmud, known as Zarrin-qalam ('Golden Pen'), was born in the city of Nishapur, Persia, and studied calligraphy under the supervision of Abdi al-Katib Nishapuri. He specialised in the style of nasta'liq script with the famous master Sultan Ali Al-Mashhadi (d.1519).

Shah Mahmud is thought to have been Shah Isma'il's (d.1524) favourite calligrapher, and he was held in such a high esteem that during the campaign against the Ottoman Sultan Selim I, he was locked up by the ruler alongside the painter Behzad, for fear of their possible kidnap by the Ottomans (see Rado 1980, p.67). Under the patronage of Shah Tahmasp (r.1524-76) these two masters later combined to produce one of the most spectacular manuscripts of Nizami's Khamsa, now in the British Library (inv. no.2235). Shah Mahmud later moved to Mashhad and spent the rest of his life copying calligraphic pages and teaching pupils, including Qazi Ahmad, who met him in Mashhad. He died in 1564. Celebrated as one of the greatest masters of nasta'liq script, Shah Mahmud's works have been collected by royal bibliophiles across the Muslim world. It has been noted that particularly members of the Ottoman elite adored him. A magnificent Qur'an manuscript by him, transcribed in nasta'liq, can be found in the Topkapi Palace. See also Serin 1999.   

Shah Mahmud's recorded work includes manuscripts and calligraphic pages dated between 1517-18 and 1574-75 (Bayani vol.I, pp.295-304; vol.II, pp.305-7; Minorsky 1959, pp.135-8). Other works by Shah Mahmud Nishapuri sold in these rooms include a Halnameh formerly in the Ghazi Collection, 19 October 2016, lot 133, and a quatrain incorporated within a royal album page, sold 6 October 2010, lot 56.