Abstract
Abstract This article focuses on the Miftāḥ al-Fużalāʾ (Key of the Learned) of Muhammad ibn Muhammad Daʾud Shadiyabadi (ca. 1490). The Miftāḥ is an illustrated dictionary made in the central Indian sultanate of Malwa, based in Mandu. Although the Miftāḥ’s only illustrated copy (British Library Or 3299) contains quadruple the number of illustrations as Mandu’s famed Niʿmatnāmah (Book of Delights) and is a unicum within the arts of the Islamicate and South Asian book, it has received minimal scholarly attention. The definitions in this manuscript encompass nearly every facet of Indo-Islamicate art history. The Miftāḥ provides a vocabulary for subjects including textiles, metalwork, jewelry, arms and armor, architecture, and musical instruments. The information transmitted by the Miftāḥ is not limited to the Persian, Hindavi, Turki, and Arabic language of the text, but also includes the visual knowledge depicted in paintings. Through an analysis of this manuscript as a whole, this study proposes that the Miftāḥ’s manuscript was an object of instruction for younger members of society and utilizes wonder as a didactic tool.
Highlights
I close this article with one final illustrated definition that conflates a youth and wonder
Nearly identical images of dīvs and children would be points of entry for the viewer, perhaps a youth, or someone reading to a child, into the world of wonder
It shows a seemingly friendly interaction between the dīv and boy. The dīv in this case may even serve as a companion for the youth. These two Through a study of British Library Or 3299, we have seen that the Miftāḥ employs wonder to educate new students
Summary
I close this article with one final illustrated definition that conflates a youth (bachah, kūdak) and wonder. The painting occupies the entire width of the page, indicating that the calligrapher or painter regarded the image as significant enough to be allocated this amount of space 32), a synonym of dīv.[136] Here, the young boy’s hand points away from the other figure—a large, dark, horned demon who appears to be speaking. The painting fills the entire width of the page, and the meta-didactic image of the bookstand (kīrakh) appears in the illustration below. The dark dīv extends his left arm as if teaching: the student receives knowledge from this otherworldly creature. These two illustrations suggest that dīvs, in spite of their supposed fearfulness, may have served as companions for children. Nearly identical images of dīvs and children would be points of entry for the viewer, perhaps a youth, or someone reading to a child, into the world of wonder
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