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Lot Essay
The Zafarnama of Yazdi, is the history or ‘Book of Victory’ of Timur and Khalil Sultan. Commissioned by Ibrahim Sultan ibn Shahrukh, grandson of Timur and governor of Shiraz, the text, in ornate prose, was completed by Sharaf al-Din ‘Ali Yazdi in AH 828/1424-5 AD. By 1595 a copy – illustrated with twelve paintings by the master Bihzad – had been acquired by the Mughal court, where the emperors proudly emphasised their direct lineage from Timur. The now dispersed manuscript from which this miniature comes, was ordered for the library of the Emperor Akbar, probably between 1595 and 1600. The illustrations were done in the royal atelier by the foremost artists of the period and display the refined style characteristic of Akbar’s later years. Until the emergence of this manuscript, the only known Mughal copy of the text was one completed in July 1600 – illustrated in the sub-imperial Mughal style, probably for Mirza ‘Aziz Koka, governor of Ahmadabad and foster brother to Akbar. Seyller argues that because patrons of this class typically emulated imperial taste in books and painting, this date strongly suggests our manuscript was produced earlier – a supposition corroborated by the roll of painters involved in its illustration (Seyller and Seitz, Mughal and Deccani Paintings, exhibition catalogue, Zurich, 2010, p.42).
Jagannath appears as a major artist in the Mughal atelier as soon as artists’ names start being added to their works in the 1580s. He contributed to the 1584 Timurnama as well as working independently on the Khamsas of Nizami and Amir Khusraw in 1595 and 1597 respectively. Despite the small size of the illustration, the artist has created a unified composition suggestive of the sweep of Timur’s forces from left to right breaking through the walls of the fortress of Fushanj. The defenders continue to fight valiantly, although it seems futile with Timur’s men flowing unchallenged through the open gates and riflemen already lined up within the city walls. Yet at the centre of the composition we see the lead officer of Ghiyath al-Din, who was the Kartid ruler of Herat, slice down one of the Timurid commanders which, in spite of the ascendancy of Timur’s army, reminds the viewer of the losses to both sides.
A number of miniatures from this copy of the Zafarnama are known. Two were offered at Sotheby's, 3 May 2001, lots 71 and 72 and another two 21 October 2001, lots 64 and 65. Five other folios sold in these Rooms, 26 April 2012, lots 3, 4 and 5, and 04 October 2012, lots 31 and 32. Most however, are now in private collections. Two are in the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University (2005.027) and in the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California (2009.17). Another is in the Eva and Konrad Seitz Collection (published Seyller and Seitz, op. cit., no.6, pp.42-44).
Jagannath appears as a major artist in the Mughal atelier as soon as artists’ names start being added to their works in the 1580s. He contributed to the 1584 Timurnama as well as working independently on the Khamsas of Nizami and Amir Khusraw in 1595 and 1597 respectively. Despite the small size of the illustration, the artist has created a unified composition suggestive of the sweep of Timur’s forces from left to right breaking through the walls of the fortress of Fushanj. The defenders continue to fight valiantly, although it seems futile with Timur’s men flowing unchallenged through the open gates and riflemen already lined up within the city walls. Yet at the centre of the composition we see the lead officer of Ghiyath al-Din, who was the Kartid ruler of Herat, slice down one of the Timurid commanders which, in spite of the ascendancy of Timur’s army, reminds the viewer of the losses to both sides.
A number of miniatures from this copy of the Zafarnama are known. Two were offered at Sotheby's, 3 May 2001, lots 71 and 72 and another two 21 October 2001, lots 64 and 65. Five other folios sold in these Rooms, 26 April 2012, lots 3, 4 and 5, and 04 October 2012, lots 31 and 32. Most however, are now in private collections. Two are in the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University (2005.027) and in the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California (2009.17). Another is in the Eva and Konrad Seitz Collection (published Seyller and Seitz, op. cit., no.6, pp.42-44).