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Signed edition of Muraqqa-i-Chugtai by A. R. Chughtai (1894 - 1975)
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Lot 3
Signed edition of Muraqqa-i-Chugtai by A. R. Chughtai (1894 - 1975)
Estimate : 1,25,000 - 2,25,000

Unparalleled in existence, this exquisite and extremely rare rendition is the first edition of Muraqqa-i-Chughtai illustrated and published by Abdur Rehman Chughtai in 1928. This edition is part of the 210 limited copies that were personally signed by the artist. Scripted in Persian, this is an illustrated copy of Diwan-i-Ghalib. It is a brown leather-bound album that follows the traditional Persian/Urdu writing system. The spine along with the cover is fashioned with an ornate golden embossing.

The Persian word Muraqqa denotes an album, combined in a book form containing painting and calligraphy written within a decorative illuminated border. Muraqqa-i-Chughtai was published in 1928 when Chughtai was just 29 years old. The book has an introduction by James H. Cousins, a prominent writer and critic and a foreword written by the eminent poet, Mohammad Iqbal. This album houses the DIwan-i-Ghalib that was first published by one of the most acclaimed Persian-Urdu poet, Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib.

'Chughtai was born in Lahore in 1897 in the area known as 'Mohalla Chabuk Sawaran', the second son of Karim Bukhsh, in a family descended from generations of craftsmen, architects, and decorators. Chughtai briefly learnt naqqashi from his uncle Baba Miran Shah Naqqash at a local mosque. After completing his education at the Railway Technical School, Lahore, in 1911, Chughtai joined the Mayo School of Art, where Samarendranath Gupta, a pupil of Abanindranath Tagore was Vice-Principal. After leaving the school, he made a living for a while as a photographer and drawing teacher. He eventually became the head instructor in chromo-lithography at the Mayo School.

In his sixty years of artistic creation, Chughtai produced nearly 2000 watercolours, thousands of pencil sketches, and nearly 300 etchings and aquatints. He also wrote short stories, and articles on art. He designed stamps, coins, insignia and book covers. He was also an avid collector of miniatures and other art. He published three books of his own work: the Muraqqai-i-Chughtai (1928), Naqsh-i-Chughtai (c. 1935) and Chughtai's Paintings (1940). The Muraqqa-i-Chughtai was a sumptuously illustrated edition of Mirza Ghalib's Urdu poetry, with a foreword by Sir Muhammad Iqbal. It is regarded as the most significant work of Chughtai's career and in its time, was considered the finest achievement in book production in the country.

Chughtai's early watercolours take from the revivalism of the Bengal School - his Jahanara and the Taj, for instance, show the influence of Abanindranath Tagore's painting The Last Moments of Shah Jahan[3]. By the 1940s he had created his own style, strongly influenced by Islamic art traditions, but retaining a feel of Art Nouveau. His subject matter was drawn from the legends, folklore and history of the Indo-Islamic world, as well as Punjab, Persia and the world of the Mughals.'

(text courtesy grosvenorgallery.com)

Hammer Price :
2,40,000
+ Buyer premium (10 %)
 24000.00
Total
2,64,000
The lot has ended
  • Collection: Oleographs, Lithographs, woodcut prints, etching, and screen- and offset prints Collection: Oleographs, Lithographs, woodcut prints, etching, and screen- and offset prints
Description

Unparalleled in existence, this exquisite and extremely rare rendition is the first edition of Muraqqa-i-Chughtai illustrated and published by Abdur Rehman Chughtai in 1928. This edition is part of the 210 limited copies that were personally signed by the artist. Scripted in Persian, this is an illustrated copy of Diwan-i-Ghalib. It is a brown leather-bound album that follows the traditional Persian/Urdu writing system. The spine along with the cover is fashioned with an ornate golden embossing.

The Persian word Muraqqa denotes an album, combined in a book form containing painting and calligraphy written within a decorative illuminated border. Muraqqa-i-Chughtai was published in 1928 when Chughtai was just 29 years old. The book has an introduction by James H. Cousins, a prominent writer and critic and a foreword written by the eminent poet, Mohammad Iqbal. This album houses the DIwan-i-Ghalib that was first published by one of the most acclaimed Persian-Urdu poet, Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib.

'Chughtai was born in Lahore in 1897 in the area known as 'Mohalla Chabuk Sawaran', the second son of Karim Bukhsh, in a family descended from generations of craftsmen, architects, and decorators. Chughtai briefly learnt naqqashi from his uncle Baba Miran Shah Naqqash at a local mosque. After completing his education at the Railway Technical School, Lahore, in 1911, Chughtai joined the Mayo School of Art, where Samarendranath Gupta, a pupil of Abanindranath Tagore was Vice-Principal. After leaving the school, he made a living for a while as a photographer and drawing teacher. He eventually became the head instructor in chromo-lithography at the Mayo School.

In his sixty years of artistic creation, Chughtai produced nearly 2000 watercolours, thousands of pencil sketches, and nearly 300 etchings and aquatints. He also wrote short stories, and articles on art. He designed stamps, coins, insignia and book covers. He was also an avid collector of miniatures and other art. He published three books of his own work: the Muraqqai-i-Chughtai (1928), Naqsh-i-Chughtai (c. 1935) and Chughtai's Paintings (1940). The Muraqqa-i-Chughtai was a sumptuously illustrated edition of Mirza Ghalib's Urdu poetry, with a foreword by Sir Muhammad Iqbal. It is regarded as the most significant work of Chughtai's career and in its time, was considered the finest achievement in book production in the country.

Chughtai's early watercolours take from the revivalism of the Bengal School - his Jahanara and the Taj, for instance, show the influence of Abanindranath Tagore's painting The Last Moments of Shah Jahan[3]. By the 1940s he had created his own style, strongly influenced by Islamic art traditions, but retaining a feel of Art Nouveau. His subject matter was drawn from the legends, folklore and history of the Indo-Islamic world, as well as Punjab, Persia and the world of the Mughals.'

(text courtesy grosvenorgallery.com)

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It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using 'Content here, content here', making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for 'lorem ipsum' will uncover many web sites still in their infancy. Various versions have evolved over the years, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose (injected humour and the like).

It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using 'Content here, content here', making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for 'lorem ipsum' will uncover many web sites still in their infancy. Various versions have evolved over the years, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose (injected humour and the like).

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