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Manuscript/Mixed Material Verses on the beloved

About this Item

Title

  • Verses on the beloved

Names

  • Munshi Ram

Created / Published

  • 18th century

Headings

  • -  Calligraphy, Arabic
  • -  Calligraphy, Persian
  • -  Manuscripts, Persian--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  India--West Bengal
  • -  Arabic script calligraphy
  • -  Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Islamic calligraphy
  • -  Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Nasta'liq

Notes

  • -  Verses on the beloved, Persian poem describing the heavenly scent and life-endowing capabilities of the beloved, written by calligrapher Munshi Ram, from West Bengal India in the Nasta'liq script.
  • -  Agar cha mushk-i az far khush nasim ast / Dam-i jan bakhsh chun buyat nadarad / Maqam-i khub u dilkhwah-st firdaws / Valikin runaq-i kuyat nadarad
  • -  Although musk smells fragrant / It does not breathe life like your scent / Paradise is a good and beloved place / But it is not as splendid as your abode
  • -  Although the calligraphic specimen is neither signed nor dated, a later note on the fragment's verso attributes the piece to a certain "Munshi Ram." This calligrapher may be identified with Munshi Ram (1737-90), a writer specializing in Arabic and Persian who was active in Radhanagar, West Bengal (India).
  • -  Another specimen signed by Munshi Ram is held in the collections of the Library of Congress (1-04-713.19.54). Judging from both specimens, he seems to have been an 18th-century Indian calligrapher who prefered writing verses in nasta'liq script using white ink on red backgrounds.
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: 8 (w) x 14 (h) cm
  • -  The text is executed in nasta'liq script in white ink on a red background. Blue panels decorated with gold flower and leaf motifs separate and frame the lines of text . Other monochromatic frames also appear on the larger sheet of beige paper backed by cardboard onto which the text panel has been pasted.
  • -  This calligraphic fragment includes four lines of Persian poetry describing the heavenly scent and life-endowing capabilities of the beloved:
  • -  Script: nasta'liq
  • -  1-04-713.19.55

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 24.1 (w) x 35.7 (h) cm

Repository

  • Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714560

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The contents of the Library of Congress Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions and are free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, African and Middle East Division, Near East Section Persian Manuscript Collection

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Munshi Ram. Verses on the Beloved. 18th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714560/.

APA citation style:

Munshi Ram. Verses on the Beloved. 18th Century. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714560/.

MLA citation style:

Munshi Ram. Verses on the Beloved. 18th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714560/>.