watercolour on European paper (watermark only faintly visible), 11 lines of text comprising prayers and verses from the Qur'an written in large thuluth script in black ink, surmounted by a further calligraphic composition, all interspersed by and within stylised polychrome floral motifs
1570 x 365 mm.

Footnotes

The inscriptions consist of an invocation to God, followed by Qur'an, sura XLI, Fussilat or Ha-Mim, verse 30, and sura XL, Ghafir, part of verse 7 and the whole of verse 8.

Arjumand Banu Begum, the wife of the Emperor Shah Jahan, known as Mumtaz Mahal, died in 1631. When Shah Jahan died in 1666 he was buried beside her, within an octagonal screen enclosure. Further inscriptions of verses from the Qur'an are found on the sides of the cenotaph, relating to the passage of the soul of the deceased into paradise.

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- Islamic and Indian Art

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A large painting depicting the pietra dura work on the top of the cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal at the Taj Mahal, Agra Company School, Agra, circa 1820-30

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Matthew Thomas