Subject Headings - Calligraphy, Arabic - Calligraphy, Persian - Manuscripts, Persian--Washington (D.C.) - India--West Bengal - Arabic script calligraphy - Illuminated Islamic manuscripts - Islamic calligraphy - Islamic manuscripts - Nasta'liq Notes - Verses on the beloved, Persian poem describing the heavenly scent and life-endowing capabilities of the beloved, written by calligrapher Munshi Ram, from West Bengal India in the Nasta'liq script. - Agar cha mushk-i az far khush nasim ast / Dam-i jan bakhsh chun buyat nadarad / Maqam-i khub u dilkhwah-st firdaws / Valikin runaq-i kuyat nadarad - Although musk smells fragrant / It does not breathe life like your scent / Paradise is a good and beloved place / But it is not as splendid as your abode - Although the calligraphic specimen is neither signed nor dated, a later note on the fragment's verso attributes the piece to a certain "Munshi Ram." This calligrapher may be identified with Munshi Ram (1737-90), a writer specializing in Arabic and Persian who was active in Radhanagar, West Bengal (India). - Another specimen signed by Munshi Ram is held in the collections of the Library of Congress (1-04-713.19.54). Judging from both specimens, he seems to have been an 18th-century Indian calligrapher who prefered writing verses in nasta'liq script using white ink on red backgrounds. - Dimensions of Written Surface: 8 (w) x 14 (h) cm - The text is executed in nasta'liq script in white ink on a red background. Blue panels decorated with gold flower and leaf motifs separate and frame the lines of text . Other monochromatic frames also appear on the larger sheet of beige paper backed by cardboard onto which the text panel has been pasted. - This calligraphic fragment includes four lines of Persian poetry describing the heavenly scent and life-endowing capabilities of the beloved: - Script: nasta'liq - 1-04-713.19.55 Medium 1 volume ; 24.1 (w) x 35.7 (h) cm Repository Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA Digital Id https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.amed/ascs.050 Library of Congress Control Number 2019714560 Online Format image LCCN Permalink https://lccn.loc.gov/2019714560 Additional Metadata Formats MARCXML Record MODS Record Dublin Core Record IIIF Presentation Manifest Manifest (JSON/LD)