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| Folio 31r from an illustrated manuscript of the Nigāristān of A$mad ibn Mu$ammad Ghaffārī Shiraz, Iran; dated 980 H/1573 CE Opaque watercolour, ink and gold on paper Manuscript: 38.7 x 24.9 x 6.4 cm AKM 272 Publ: A. Welch 1978b, p. 78 (not ill.); AKTC 2010b, p. 303 (no. 131; binding only) |
The Nigaristan, a collection of anecdotes concerning key
figures from the early history of Islam, was completed by
the sometime Qadi (judge) of Qazwin, Ghaffari, in 959
H/1552 CE – only some twenty years before this copy was
made.
In the
tradition of Islamic kingship that connects political legitimacy
with
Messianic
claims
this
was
an
important
line
of
descent
for the ruling power. The same lineage also appears
in
other
Safavid
histories,
including
Ghaffari’s
own
Nusakh-i
jahan-ara,
and
enabled
the
Safavid
rulers
to
claim
legitimacy
as
sayyids,
or
descendents
of
the
Prophet.
As
an
important
dynastic
text
for
the
Safavid
rulers,
there
are
a
number
of
other
Safavid
manuscripts
of
the
Nigaristan
in
existence;
however,
illustrated versions are less common
and the forty-four high-quality miniatures in this example make it a very important copy of this
manuscript.
The present image of a man beating on the door of the
Ka'ba is indebted to a pre-existing iconography of Ka'ba
scenes in miniature paintings found in earlier texts, including
well-known
and
often-repeated
narrative
images
from
the
Khamsa
of
Nizami
and
the
Shahnama
of
Firdawsi,
and
certain
depictions
of
the
ascension
(mi'raj)
of
the
Prophet.
Although
this
painting
is
distinct
from
many
of those earlier prototypes in its close focus on the
Ka'ba and lack of surrounding topography, there is an attention
to
detail
that
grounds
it
in
reality.
The
grey
stone
from
which
the
Ka'ba
is
built,
the
elevated
position
of
the
door
(in current reality about two metres off the ground,
and with two ring knockers rather than one), the presence of the black cloth covering of the Ka'ba (known as
the kiswa), missing its inscription band but
embroidered in gold and lifted to reveal the door, and the circular pavement around the Ka'ba, known as the mataf,
all bespeak close familiarity with visual and textual sources,
or perhaps even an artist who had performed the Hajj
himself.
By this period, the topography of the Ka'ba was
extremely well known, and had circulated widely in different
formats. A depiction fairly similar to this one can be
seen in a mi'raj image from a Shiraz manuscript produced
c. 1585–90 .
If the image was intended to represent the Hajj, one
would also have expected to see shaved heads and the
white ritual garment of the pilgrim, indicating the sacred
state of Ihram, and it can be assumed that this is not what
was intended. However, various aspects of the practice of
ritual prayer have been considered: several pilgrims have
bare feet, indicating their ritual purity, while some pray on
prayer rugs and veiled women look on from a separate area.
Book Reference :
Architecture in Islamic Arts Treasures of the
Aga Khan Museum by Margaret S. Graves, Benoît Junod, Gérard Friedli
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