INDIA, DECCAN, BIJAPUR OR GOLCONDA, CIRCA 1700

A very similar leaf was sold in these Rooms 12 September 2012, lot 612, with further leaves from the same album forming lots 610 and 611 in the same sale. The calligraphy here, with its play on the orientation of the lettering, and particularly the coloring with the extensive use of gold on a deep red and black ground, resembles the calligraphic panels included in the mihrab wall of the Jama Masjid in Bijapur. This magnificent building was erected by `Ali Adil Shahi after his victory over the Vijaynagara empire in 1578. A further leaf, identical to one of those in lot 611 but with the ground colors reversed, is in the Kronos collection, and was exhibited, attributed to Golconda, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2015 (Haidar and Sardar, 2015, no.105, p.212). The catalogue entry there discusses the technique used to create this design and its links to the practices of bookbinding.