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MirʾÄt al-quds (Mirror of Holiness): A Life of Christ for Emperor Akbar
A Commentary on Father Jerome Xavierâs Text and the Miniatures of Cleveland Museum of Art, Acc. No. 2005.145
Series: - Muqarnas, Supplements, Volume: 12
Author:
Translator:
Emperor Akbarâs 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 textâtranslated into English for the first timeâdraws 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.
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).
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).
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 MIRʾÄT AL-QUDS IN CONTEXT
2.1. A bibliographical survey of the MirʾÄt 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 MirʾÄt al-quds
CHAPTER THREE: VISUALIZING THE MIRʾÄT AL-QUDS: CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART, ACC. NO. 2005.145
3.1. The miniatures of the Cleveland MirʾÄt al-quds
3.2. The missing miniatures and their themes
3.3. Salim as the patron of the Cleveland MirʾÄt al-quds illustrated at Allahabad (1602â04)
3.4. A brief survey of the life of Christ in Islamic painting and literature
CHAPTER FOUR: CATALOGUE OF THE CLEVELAND MIRʾÄT AL-QUDS, ACC. NO. 2005.145
4.1. Cat. Nos. IâXXVII
4.2. A list of the miniatures, with corresponding pages in Father Jeromeâs text (in the Cleveland copy of the MirʾÄt al-quds)
CHAPTER FIVE: A TRANSLATION OF THE MIRʾÄT AL-QUDS BY W. M. THACKSTON, WITH NOTES BY P. MOURA CARVALHO
5.1. Translatorâs Preface
5.2. Preamble
5.3. Part One: Christâs 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 MIRʾÄT AL-QUDS BY W. M. THACKSTON
6.1. Preamble
6.1. Part One: Christâs 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 MirʾÄt al-quds
APPENDIX II: Order of Folios in the Cleveland MirʾÄt al-quds, by W.M. Thackston
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
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 MIRʾÄT AL-QUDS IN CONTEXT
2.1. A bibliographical survey of the MirʾÄt 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 MirʾÄt al-quds
CHAPTER THREE: VISUALIZING THE MIRʾÄT AL-QUDS: CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART, ACC. NO. 2005.145
3.1. The miniatures of the Cleveland MirʾÄt al-quds
3.2. The missing miniatures and their themes
3.3. Salim as the patron of the Cleveland MirʾÄt al-quds illustrated at Allahabad (1602â04)
3.4. A brief survey of the life of Christ in Islamic painting and literature
CHAPTER FOUR: CATALOGUE OF THE CLEVELAND MIRʾÄT AL-QUDS, ACC. NO. 2005.145
4.1. Cat. Nos. IâXXVII
4.2. A list of the miniatures, with corresponding pages in Father Jeromeâs text (in the Cleveland copy of the MirʾÄt al-quds)
CHAPTER FIVE: A TRANSLATION OF THE MIRʾÄT AL-QUDS BY W. M. THACKSTON, WITH NOTES BY P. MOURA CARVALHO
5.1. Translatorâs Preface
5.2. Preamble
5.3. Part One: Christâs 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 MIRʾÄT AL-QUDS BY W. M. THACKSTON
6.1. Preamble
6.1. Part One: Christâs 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 MirʾÄt al-quds
APPENDIX II: Order of Folios in the Cleveland MirʾÄt al-quds, by W.M. Thackston
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
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.