The Visual Evidence of the Connection and Association between Shaykh Muhammed and the Court of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza

Shaykh Muhammed(active 1530s-90s), who was Safavid painter and calligrapher left no clear trace of his association with Safavid kings, However, historical evidence having been obtained from reliable sources confirms that an important part of the artistic activities of Shaykh Muhammed served Sultan Ibrahim Mirza - nephew of Shah Tahmasp- (prince governed in Mashhad over a thirteen-year period -962/1554-55 to 970/1562-63 and 973/1565- 66 to 974/1566-67). Qazi Ahmad reports that Shaykh Muhammed worked for the prince in Mashhad, where author and artist undoubtedly knew each other. Iskandar Beg Munshi, on the other hand, states that the artist entered Ibrahim Mirza’s employ in Sabzivar. Munshi Budaqi Qazvini mentions that the artist was with Sultan Ibrahim Mirza only in Khurasan. The recorded oeuvre of Shaykh Muhammed, consisting of several signed tinted drawings, and paintings, supplemented by a large number of attributed works, confirms the artist’s virtuosity and versatility even within the same media. Considering the fact that some attributes of Shaykh Muhammed’s works are attention to reality, separation from literature and treatment of the subjects of routine life, the main question to be answered in this article is: can a trace be found in his signed and attributed works to prove the relationship between him and the patronizing Safavid Sultan? To answer this question, three illustrations attributed to Shaykh Muhammed from the Sultan Ibrahim Mirza’s Haft Awrang (Seven thrones) and commonly known as the Freer Jami and a double page frontispiece in the six Masnavis of Jami (An incomplete Haft Awrang) attributed to Shaykh Muhammed that is kept in the library of Topkapi Sarayi, are presented and analyzed. The method of study is descriptive- analytical via library research. Two main pursues of this article are: 1- finding evidence regarding the attribution of paintings to Shaykh Muhammed and 2- exploring the connection between Shaykh Muhammed and his patron. The results of this study show that these paintings have similarities with other works which were attributed to or signed by Shaykh Muhammed. There are indeed certain affinities between Shaykh Muhammed’s paintings of elegant kneeling youths and the unsigned double page frontispiece in the six Masnavis of Jami. He also implicitly illustrates part of the story behind a literary narrative. The iconographies of these works seem to be related directly to the prince and specifically to his marriage to Gawhar Sultan Khanim. When the bride and her entourage arrived in Mashhad, Qazi Ahmad reports, several months of celebration followed until the marriage was consummated. In this way, Shaykh Muhammed has expressed his devotion to and association with his patron.