Miftah al-Sarod
Manuscript Binding
late 19th century to early 20th century (made), 1691 (made)
late 19th century to early 20th century (made), 1691 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Binding of a copy of the Miftah al-Sarod, a musical treatise. The manuscript's text is in Persian and the manuscript contains 81 illustrated pages of which 3 pages have 2 miniatures. The pages have been rebound out of sequence.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Miftah al-Sarod (series title) |
| Materials and techniques | Painted, written and drawn in opaque watercolour, gold and ink on paper |
| Brief description | Binding, probably late 19th or early 20th century rebinding of an illuminated manuscript, a copy of the Miftah al-Sarod (a treatise on music by Qazi Hasan), north Deccan, dated 1691 AD |
| Physical description | Binding of a copy of the Miftah al-Sarod, a musical treatise. The manuscript's text is in Persian and the manuscript contains 81 illustrated pages of which 3 pages have 2 miniatures. The pages have been rebound out of sequence. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Gallery label |
|
| Object history | The Miftah al-Sarod is a musical treatise in Persian written at Daulatabad in the Deccan by Qazi Hasan, son of Khwaja Tahir, son of Khwaja Muhammad Qazi, in 1673/4. The present copy was written and illustrated, according to the colophon, in the district of Indur (modern Nizamabad) in the Deccan in 1102 A.H. (July-August A.D.1691). It was rebound, probably in the late 19th or early 20th century. The treatise is a ragamala work or 'garland of musical modes'. It describes the six principal ragas or musical modes (given as Bhairon, Malakansika, Hindola, Dipak, Shri and Megha Malhar) and their 31 'wives' and 49 'sons'. Each raga has 5 'wives' and 8 'sons' but Shri raga has 6 'wives' and 9 'sons'. This is based on the system of Ksemakarna but modified in the case of Shri Raga. Thus the total number of ragas (male) and raginis (female) is eighty-six, of which eighty-three illustrated remain in the manuscript. |
| Bibliographic reference | Skelton, Robert, et al, The Indian Heritage. Court life and Arts under Mughal Rule London: The Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982
Skelton, Robert, cat. 82. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.61:1-1977 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 12, 2013 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
