Persian manuscript on paper, four lines written diagonally in nasta'liq script within cloudbands, on a ground decorated with floral motifs probably added at a later date, outer borders of coloured and gold-sprinkled paper, slightly creased
286 x 183 mm.

Footnotes

There are two known scribes with the name 'Arshi, both active in the 17th Century.

A. Muhammad Mu'min Akbar Abadi, who used the pen-name 'Arshi, son of the calligrapher Mir 'Abullah Mushkin Raqam. Dara Shokuh employed him as a teacher to his son Sulayman Shokuh. He retired later and died in 1680. Only one piece signed as Muhammad Mu'min and dated AH 1073/1662-63 is recorded. See Mehdi Bayani, ahval va athar-e khosh-nevisan-e nasta'liq, vol. 3, 1348, p. 842.
B. 'Arshi, the son of the calligrapher Kamal al-Din of Khayr Abad. 'Arshi moved to Jaunpur and was favoured by 'Abd al-Rahim Khan Khanan. He left for Persia and settled in Yazd. At the time of the completion of ma'athir-e rahimi in 1616, he was still alive. See Mehdi Bayani, ahval va athar-e khosh-nevisan-e nasta'liq, vol. 2, 1346, p. 429.

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A calligraphic panel, commissioned for Nawab Ja'far Khan, signed by 'Arshi India, 17th Century

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Oliver White