The Pandnameh (Book of Advice) of Luqman, copied by Mahmud ibn Ishaq, Central Asia, Bukhara, Safavid, dated 941 AH/1534-35 AD

inscriptions

f.1a, 'Pand nameh, in the hand of the master Mawlana Mahmud', and the seal impression of Shams al-Hukama 'Ali

Mahmud ibn Ishaq al-Shahabi was a native of Herat, whose father held the position of kalantar (mayor) of the city. Several versions of the scribe’s biography exist but Qadi Ahmad’s version of events is the most frequently cited. According to him, upon ‘Ubaydullah Khan’s occupation of the city in 1528-29, the Shaybanid ruler took Mahmud ibn Ishaq, along with many other prized artists and calligraphers, to his capital in Bukhara. The celebrated scribe Mir ‘Ali was taken to Bukhara alongside and became his tutor. Qadi Ahmad records that our scribe relocated to Balkh in his later life, where he copied a manuscript of ‘Abdullah Ansari’s Nasa’ih in 971 AH/1564 AD, sold at Christies, London, 10 October 2013, lot 12 and a Bustan of the poet Sa’di in 989 AH/1581-82 AD, (see Minorsky 1959, pp.131-2 and Adamova and Bayani, 2015, p.422 for a further discussion on the scribe’s biography).

The talent of our scribe was such that some even claimed his hand was superior to that of his tutor. Mir ‘Ali himself is cited as stating that he had “acquired a pupil better than myself” (Minorsky 1959, pp.131-2). A manuscript in his hand that sold at Christie’s, London, 10 October 2013, lot 11 bears an inscription from the royal Mughal library further attesting to the high regard that Mahmud ibn Ishaq commanded. Further works by the scribe include a diwan of Amir Khusraw Dehlavi sold in these rooms, 26 October 2022, lot 22, and a muraqqa’ sold in these rooms, 19 October 2016, lot 132.

The marbled margins of the present manuscript flecked in gold are a striking feature, the monochromatic blue trails complementing the blue-dyed paper of certain leaves. Porter notes that authors have often overlooked the characteristics of decorated paper margins which prevents a secure attribution of marbled paper although it is generally agreed to have been developed in the sixteenth century under Shah Tahmasp (1994, p.46, see also Richard 2016, p.131). Similar paper margins are found in a manuscript of Hadith-i Sharif copied in 1486 in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (inv. no.Iran, s. I., 1486, see Richard 1997, no.69, p.110). Richard attributes those margins to the mid-sixteenth century and it is therefore likely that the margins of the present manuscript could be of a similar date to the beautiful calligraphy they enclose.