Collection of Poems by Hasan Dihlavī

This is an illuminated and illustrated Mughal copy of a dīvān (collection of poems) by the eminent poet and hagiographer of Islamic India, Hasan Dihlavī, who died in about 1338. The manuscript was written in nasta'līq script by 'Abd Allāh Mushkīn Qalam (Amber-Scented Pen), in Allāhābād in 1011 AH (1602 AD), according to the colophon on folio 187a, although the illustration on that page identifies the calligrapher as Mir `Abd Allah Katib. Both were celebrated royal calligraphers. Abd Allāh Mushkīn Qalam worked in Allāhābād for Prince Salim, who later became the Mughal emperor, Jahāngīr. The manuscript opens with a double-page illuminated incipit and is illustrated with 14 paintings, including a portrait of the calligrapher himself on folio 187a. The lacquer binding has intricate all-over illumination in which the main element is a pattern of gold strapwork with floral motifs, attributable to the 19th century.