Sikh warriors, North India, possibly Punjab Hills, late 18th - Lot 170

Sikh warriors, North India, possibly Punjab Hills, late 18th century and on reverse, calligraphic qit'a signed Mîr 'Alî, Safavid Iran, 16th century Gouache, gold and silver on paper in landscape format depicting Rajput warriors, some on parade before princes kneeling in pavilions, others fighting or training for battle, one bringing a prisoner. Among the subjects in the scene, a bare-chested dervish with his walking stick gives alms to a prince. Mounted on an album page with a gilded floral scroll border and a gold-powdered margin showing the remains of a stamp and Persian nast'aliq inscriptions in black ink. On the reverse, four verses from the Ghazaliyat of Amîr Khosrow's Diwân (1253-1324) obliquely calligraphed in Persian nast'aliq in black ink in reserves on a background of gilded foliage. On either side, spandrels illuminated with floral scrolls on a blue background, the lower spandrels signed in reserve with the name of the calligrapher Mîr 'Alî. The composition is mounted on an album page with a border of gilded foliage scrolls on a salmon background and a brown margin decorated with gilded flowers. Painting size: 20.5 x 29.5 cm; calligraphy size: 21.8 x 12.7 cm; page size: 38.8 x 27.2 cm Heavy wear on both sides, a band added at the top of the painting to enlarge it, small tears reattached to the painting, stains. Provenance : Sotheby's sale, London, Sir AW Robert Dent's Collection, April 11, 1972, lot 66. The qit'a on the reverse of this album page is signed Mîr 'Alî. Several renowned calligraphers bear this name, but the vertical format of the qit'a, the oblique layout of the verses framed by two illuminated spandrels and the nasta'liq style point to the great Safavid calligrapher Mîr 'Alî Heravî al-Kâtib (d. 1556) or his workshop. Born in Herat in 1476, Mîr 'Alî worked in Bukhara for the Shaybanids after the capture of his native city in 1528. Considered a great master of nasta'liq calligraphy, he signed a large number of qit'as, many of which are known in Mughal painting albums, as in this case. His works are dated between 1508 and 1544. According to the Ottoman chronicler Mustafa 'Alî, the artist allowed his pupils to put his signature on their works, which calls for caution in attributing this work to the master. Bibliography : BLAIR, Sheila S., Islamic Calligraphy, Edinburgh University Press Ltd, Edinburgh: 2006, pp 430, 466, 467. Paris private collection, lots 166 to 193.