Inscribed Panel

Inscribed Panel

Stating "in the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful," this plaque might have started the dedicatory inscription of a mosque. It has the orthographic features of mid-seventeenth-century architectural inscriptions, finding close parallels to the epigraphic panels in the second story of the Gol Gumbaz (Round Dome, 1656), the tomb of Muhammad 'Adil Shah (reigned 1627–56). The building's soaring dome is its most notable feature, but its skillfully executed stucco and stonework are evidence that the fine architectural traditions of the Ibrahim 'Adil Shah II era (1580–1627) continued well into the seventeenth century. Like the inscriptions in the tomb, this example is contained within a cusped cartouche, with the words appearing above and below the central line, here created by the horizontal extension of the letter he in al-rahim. Technically, creating the inscription involved chipping away the surface of the stone around each letter, the contrasting surfaces resulting in different shades of gray for the fore- and backgrounds of the inscription. The effect is simple but allows the words to be easily read.

Inscription: Bismillah al-rahman al-rahim: In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Purchased by Ismail Merchant at Sotheby's, New York, on June 17, 1993, Lot# 216; Collection of Ismail Merchant; By bequest to James Ivory

Sotheby's, New York, June 17, 1993, lot 216 (to Merchant); Ismail Merchant, Claverack, NY (1993–d. 2005); by descent, James Ivory, Claverack, NY (2005–2024; gifted to MMA)

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy," April 20–July 26, 2015.

"Indian and Southeast Asian Art, June 17, 1993." In Sotheby's New York . New York, 1993. lot 216.

Haidar, Navina, and Marika Sardar. "Opulence and Fantasy." In Sultans of Deccan India 1500–1700. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015. no. 65, p. 147, ill.