Mirʾāt Al-Quds (Mirror of Holiness): A Life of Christ for Emperor Akbar

A Commentary on Father Jerome Xavier's Text and the Miniatures of Cleveland Museum of Art, Acc. No. 2005.145
Erscheinungsjahr 2011
ISBN: 978-90-04-21149-0
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 12, 386 Seiten, Format (B × H): 217 mm x 277 mm, Gewicht: 1556 g

Reihe: Muqarnas, Supplements

Emperor Akbar’s exceptional interest in Christianity is reflected in many ways. Among these was his commissioning in 1602 of a Life of Christ from his guest, the Jesuit priest Jerome Xavier, thus marking a singular moment in the relations between one of the greatest Muslim rulers and Catholicism. This fascinating text—translated into English for the first time—draws mostly on Biblical and apocryphal sources, but also reveals that in order not to antagonize his Muslim hosts, Father Jerome occasionally made concessions in his work. Of the three illustrated copies, the one used in this study and now in the Cleveland Museum of Art is the most important. Its twenty-seven high-quality miniatures were inspired by the text itself, resulting in unique interpretations of episodes that often do not find parallels in a European context

Zielgruppe

Those interested in the history of religions, and particularity in Catholicism versus Islam; East and West relations; Mughal painting, Emperor Akbar's interest painting and Christianity; the Jesuit missions in Asia; the Life of Christ and Christian iconography.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Moura Carvalho, Pedro

Weitere Mitwirkende

Thackston, Wheeler M.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islam & Islamische Studien

Inhaltsverzeichnis

FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION: Father Jerome Xavier and the Third Jesuit Mission to the Mughal Court: Historical, Political and Religious Contexts

CHAPTER ONE: A LIFE OF FATHER JEROME XAVIER
1.1. Background and literary production
1.2. A bio-bibliographical survey
1.3. Early and contemporary Lives of Christ

CHAPTER TWO: THE MIR'AT AL-QUDS IN CONTEXT
2.1. A bibliographical survey of the Mir'at al-quds and its reception in European literature
2.2. Identifying the literary sources used by Father Jerome Xavier
2.3. An interpretation of the Abgar episode and some further considerations
2.4. The complexities of writing about Christ for a Muslim audience
2.5. Copying the Mir'at al-quds

CHAPTER THREE: VISUALIZING THE MIR'AT AL-QUDS: CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART, ACC. NO. 2005.145
3.1. The miniatures of the Cleveland Mir'at al-quds
3.2. The missing miniatures and their themes
3.3. Salim as the patron of the Cleveland Mir'at al-quds illustrated at Allahabad (1602–04)
3.4. A brief survey of the life of Christ in Islamic painting and literature

CHAPTER FOUR: CATALOGUE OF THE CLEVELAND MIR'AT AL-QUDS, ACC. NO. 2005.145
4.1. Cat. Nos. I–XXVII
4.2. A list of the miniatures, with corresponding pages in Father Jerome’s text (in the Cleveland copy of the Mir'at al-quds)

CHAPTER FIVE: A TRANSLATION OF THE MIR'AT AL-QUDS BY W. M. THACKSTON, WITH NOTES BY P. MOURA CARVALHO
5.1. Translator’s Preface
5.2. Preamble
5.3. Part One: Christ’s childhood
5.4. Part Two: His miracles and teachings
5.5. Part Three: His trials, tribulations, and death
5.6. Part Four: His Resurrection from the grave and Ascension into Heaven

CHAPTER SIX: AN ANNOTATED TRANSCRIPTION OF THE MIR'AT AL-QUDS BY W. M. THACKSTON
6.1. Preamble
6.1. Part One: Christ’s childhood
6.2. Part Two: His miracles and teachings
6.3. Part Three: His trials, tribulations, and death
6.4. Part Four: His Resurrection from the grave and Ascension into Heaven

APPENDIX I: Some Technical Aspects of the Cleveland Mir'at al-quds
APPENDIX II: Order of Folios in the Cleveland Mir'at al-quds, by W.M. Thackston
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX

Über Autor(innen)

Thackston, Wheeler M.
Wheeler M. Thackston is Professor of the Practice in Persian and Other Near Eastern Languages, retired, at Harvard University. Among his publications for the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture are A Century of Princes: Sources on Timurid History and Art (1989), and Album Prefaces and Other Documents on the History of Calligraphers and Painters (2001). He has also translated the memoirs of Mughal emperors, such as the Baburnama (1996) and the Jahangirnama (1999).

Moura Carvalho, Pedro
Pedro Moura Carvalho, Ph.D. (2003) in Art and Archaeology, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, is chief curator of the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore. He has published extensively on the European contribution to the arts of India, Iran, and China. Among his works are "Luxury for Export, Artistic Exchange between India and Portugal" (2008), and "Gems and Jewels of Mughal India" in the Khalili Collection (2010).

Pedro Moura Carvalho, Ph.D. (2003) in Art and Archaeology, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, is chief curator of the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore. He has published extensively on the European contribution to the arts of India, Iran, and China. Among his works are "Luxury for Export, Artistic Exchange between India and Portugal" (2008), and "Gems and Jewels of Mughal India" in the Khalili Collection (2010).

Wheeler M. Thackston is Professor of the Practice in Persian and Other Near Eastern Languages, retired, at Harvard University. Among his publications for the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture are A Century of Princes: Sources on Timurid History and Art (1989), and Album Prefaces and Other Documents on the History of Calligraphers and Painters (2001). He has also translated the memoirs of Mughal emperors, such as the Baburnama (1996) and the Jahangirnama (1999).