The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Eight Lines of Musical Poetry of the Jajner Nauras (Rag Bhairav) of Ibrahim Adil Shah of Bijapur (verso)

late 1600s

Southwestern India, Karnataka, Bijapur, 17th century

Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Page: 30.4 x 18.5 cm (11 15/16 x 7 5/16 in.)
Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.330.b
Location: Not on view

Description

Ibrahim Adil Shah II was a visionary ruler in the southern territories of the Deccan between 1580 and 1627 with his court based in the city of Bijapur. He maintained independence from Mughal encroachments from the north and fostered a distinctive culture infused with mystical Sufi ideals and a distinctive blending of Hindu and Islamic elements.

This work of calligraphy is a verse composed by Ibrahim Adil Shah II that exemplifies his love of music and poetry. Normally a Hindu court tradition, ragamalas, or musical modes, were recast by Ibrahim Adil Shah in the local Dakhini language and incorporated into his Islamic milieu. The spectacular marbling on which the verse is written in Arabic script is a characteristic of the Deccan, where marbling was prized for its mysterious and random beauty. Mounted on an imperial Mughal album page with an image of the Hindu ruler Ram Singh on the verso, the placement of this Deccani calligraphy may have functioned as a tribute to Ram Singh’s father, who served the Mughal emperor in the Deccan from 1659 until 1666.
  • ?-September 1967
    (Maggs Brothers, London, UK, Bulletin No. 12, September 1967, no. 11, sold to Ralph Benkaim)
    September 1967-2013
    Ralph Benkaim [1914-2001] and Catherine Glynn Benkaim [b. 1946], Beverly Hills, CA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2013-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Ibrahim Adil Shah. Kitab-i Nauras. Translated by Nazir Ahmad. New Delhi: Bharatiya Kala Kendra, 1956.
  • Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 245). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 2, 2014-January 5, 2015).
  • {{cite web|title=Eight Lines of Musical Poetry of the Jajner Nauras (Rag Bhairav) of Ibrahim Adil Shah of Bijapur (verso)|url=false|author=|year=late 1600s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.330.b