the shahnameh in print the lithographed editions of the...

The Shahnameh in Print The Lithographed Editions of the Persian National Epic

Ulrich Marzolph

Since the time of its compilation, the Shahnameh for many centuries had exclusively been produced in manuscript copies, many of which were adorned with magnificent illustrations. It was only at the beginning of the nineteenth century that printed copies of the Shahnameh were published. The new dimension of publishing the text of the Persian national epic in print was primarily due to the effort of British colonialist scholars in India. Matthew Lumsden (1777–1835), professor of Arabic and Persian at the College of Fort William and one of the most prolific European scholars of Persian of his day, started a projected complete edition of Firdausi’s epic poem in eight volumes, but only managed to publish the first volume in 1811. The first complete edition of the Shahnameh was achieved by Major Turner Macan, who later earned fame for bringing the manuscript of the Thousand and One Nights to India that served as the basis of this work’s subsequent edition by William Hay Macnaghten. In 1829 Macan’s edition of the Shahnameh was published in four volumes in Calcutta. Besides this editio princeps, other nineteenth century editions were published by Jules Mohl (Paris, 1838–1878) and Johann August Vullers (Leiden, 1877–1879). Meanwhile, the vast majority of the Shahnameh’s early editions were produced in India and Iran by way of lithography. The Printing of Books in India and Iran In India, as in Iran, the art of printing as a permanent cultural practice was only established in the early decades of the nineteenth century. Printing from movable type (typography) had been the first technique to be introduced. Having been used by the Orientalist printing houses in India and elsewhere for some time, this technique, however, did not yield satisfactory results and was only successful towards the end of the nineteenth century. Meanwhile, towards the end of the eighteenth century, Prague citizen Alois Senefelder had invented the process of lithographic print. This technique soon became extremely popular in India and Iran,

Enzyklopädie des M rchens Göttingen Universität

10 The Subcontinent Essay

since it permitted the production of printed items with relatively simple technical means and at comparatively low cost. In the process of printing Persian books by way of lithography, the item to be printed – whether text, illumination, or illustration – was first prepared on a sheet of special transfer paper to which the special ink used would not stick. The original copy was then used to print a negative image onto the surface of the lithographic stone. After the stone had been treated with a weak aquafortis, the printing ink would only stick to those places that had previously been touched by the writing ink. In this manner, a number of some 300 to 400 copies could be printed from any original before the surface of the only existing negative image would wear out. The vast majority of items printed in the Persian script in India, Iran, and Middle Asia were produced by way of lithography. Similar to fifteenth century incunabula in Europe, the lithographic printing of Persian texts at first resulted in the production of books whose formal conception and layout were more or less identical to those of manuscript tradition. In comparison to items printed from movable type, lithography had the particular advantage of allowing calligraphers, illuminators and illustrators to work on the very same surface. As a result, the books printed by way of lithography were comparable in layout and appearance to the previous manuscripts. Western scholars have traditionally regarded the lithographed editions of classical Persian texts with a certain disdain. In their opinion, these editions did not stand up to the criteria of critical scholarship. At best, they would be regarded as another “manuscript” version. Theodor Nöldeke is one of the few scholars ever to discuss the lithographed editions of the Shahnameh in some detail. Even though he judges these editions to be of comparatively little value for the purpose of textual critique, he admitted that their publishers had taken considerable effort and care in their production. The First Printed Editions of the Shahnameh In terms of text, the lithographed editions of the Shahnameh closely follow Turner Macan’s editio princeps. A certain amount of variation may or may not result from either lacking care on the part of the calligraphers or from conscious editorial decisions. Meanwhile, when evaluating the lithographed editions, one has to keep in mind that the audience and, hence, the general editorial decisions of “Western” and “Oriental” editors differed widely. Western scholars preparing the Shahnameh’s critical editions took great care to establish a text that would aim be as close as possible to the presumed original while identifying later textual interference. The “Oriental” editors addressed the local audience of Indian and Iranian readers for whom the Shahnameh constituted a highly admired work of classical literature. For them, the Shahnameh was part of their traditional heritage and of cultural idenity. The “Oriental” readers, then, were not so much concerned with the critical substance of the text. For them, the possession of a personal copy of the Shahnameh had been a matter of honor and pride for long, yet most of them would not have had the material means to afford commissioning a handwritten copy of the work or buying an already existing one. The printed editions for the first time in history made the


personal possession of the Shahnameh affordable. The “Oriental” readers would be quite satisfied, so long as the work contained more or less what they would expect it to contain in terms of text. Of great importance to them was, however, the work’s physical presentation and appearance. This criterion applied first of all to an appealing calligraphy of the Persian nasta’liq script, as documented, for instance, by the fact that the 1855 Indian edition written by the famous calligrapher Auliya’ Sami‘ al-Shirazi was reprinted in offset technique several times. Moreover, the “Oriental” audience was well aware of the magnificent illustrated manuscripts of the Shahnameh that had been produced for wealthy patrons in the course of history. Consequently, it was also a matter of cause that the work’s lithographed editions should be adorned by illustrations and graphic illumination. In this manner, the lithographed editions of the Shahnameh are works of art. In comparison with the magnificent products of the Timurid and Safavid eras with their splendid calligraphy and their overwhelming miniatures, the lithographed Shahnamehs are probably not intricate pieces of “great” art. On the contrary, as for their artistic quality, they are fairly modest, and particularly the more recent Indian editions show signs of lacking care. The modest artistic quality of Persian lithographed illustrations should, however, by no means justify their disregard. Persian lithographed books offer the charming simplicity of an art that, given its production in hundreds of copies, derives its significance from the fact that it was at least a little closer to the common people than elite art serving the privileged. This social aspect might in the long run contribute to an adequate understanding of the art of the Persian book in the Qajar era. The Lithographed Editions of the Shahnameh The exact number of lithographed editions of the Shahnameh remains unknown. According to the available bibliographical data, and starting with the edition Bombay 1846, probably some 30 lithographed Oriental editions of the Shahnameh were published, most of them in Indian cities such as Bombay, Lucknow, and Cawnpore. Only five lithographed editions of the Shahnameh were published in Iran in a period extending over half a century (1851 up to 1904) in Tehran and Tabriz. Contrasting with this moderate production is the number of some 25 Indian editions of the Shahnameh that were published in the period of seventy years extending from about 1850 to 1920. The reason for this considerable difference in numbers of editions remain obscure. Economical factors, such as the price of paper or the fees for the employees involved in the printing process, must have played a certain role in determining the number of editions produced. Notably, the Indian editions did not only, and maybe not even primarily, aim to satisfy local demand, since a substantial amount of Persian books of Indian production were exported to Iran. One even might have to consider the vital importance the Shahnameh possessed for the Parsi communities in India in relating their current position to the glorious past of the country they once had originated from. This assumption is corroborated by the image illustrating the scene in which Zoroaster founds the religion of Zoroastrianism by handing over the sacred fire. Quite understandably, this illustration is rarely


contained in the Shahnameh manuscripts that were produced at the order of the great Moslem rulers. Meanwhile, it forms part of the standard repertoire of all the work’s lithographed editions, notably both the Indian and the Iranian ones. The later Indian editions came to be of an increasingly modest quality both in terms of physical appearance and care invested into the production of the text as well as the illustrations. The last lithographed edition of the Shahnameh prepared in India is probably the edition published in Cawnpore in 1919. The first lithographed edition of the Shahnameh contains a set of 57 illustrations. Similar to other illustrated works of Persian literature, this number of prints set the standard for all of the lithographed editions to follow. Most of the later illustrations either constitute relatively faithful copies of the earlier items or are at least inspired by their model; only rarely were new illustrations inserted into the repertoire. From an artistic point of view, the lithographed editions of the Shahnameh produced in India display a peculiar character. This peculiar character relates to both calligraphy and illustration. The calligraphy applied is usually a well-written nasta’liq that documents the professional background of the calligraphers, mostly mention their name. The only calligrapher enjoying some renown is the one known as Ouliya’ Sami’, who prepared the calligraphy for the editions of Bombay 1272/1855 and 1276/1859. Particularly, in the more recent editions, the calligraphy betrays the characteristics of Indian nasta’liq style that is somewhat less smooth and flowing than the style practiced in Iran. As for the illustrations, most of the artists who prepared them remain unknown. The few illustrators known by name are ‘Ali Akbar (Bombay 1266/1849), Seyyed Mohammad Mirza Kazem al-Hoseini al-Shirazi (Bombay 1276/1859), and Vazir ‘Ali and Qasem ‘Ali Mosavver (Cawnpore 1290/1874). Both of the two early editions (Bombay 1262/1846 and 1266/1849) betray a fairly crude and simple style that is somewhat reminiscent of the Kashmiri style of manuscript illumination. The illustrations of the later editions are not devoid of a certain attraction in terms of composition and diligence of execution. A typical characteristic of the Indian illustrations is the indication of landscape by parallel lines. It is interesting to note that the two early Indian editions apparently founded two different iconographical schools. The first and the second Iranian edition follow the iconographical program of the first Indian edition while the third and fourth Iranian edition take the second Indian edition as their model. Meanwhile, one has to keep in mind that it is not justified to draw a clear line of distinction between the “Indian” and the “Iranian” editions. After all, a large number of the editors, calligraphers, and artists collaborating in the publication of Persian texts in India were of Persian, often of Shirazi, origin. Besides, a certain quantity of books of Indian production was undoubtedly produced for Iranian customers. The extent of this international cooperation, its mechanisms and consequences remain to be studied. At any rate, India was and remained the major production site for the lithographed editions of the Persian national epic.


A Listing of Lithographed Indian Editions of the Shahnameh 1. 1262/1846 Bombay; size 21.5 x 31.5 cm, written space 14.5 x 24 cm, 4 columns,

27 lines; calligraphy by Reza al-Hosaini al-Shirazi; 57 illustrations by an anonymous artist; published by Mohammad Mahdi Esfahani

2. 1266/1849 Bombay; size 19.5 x 29 cm, written space 14.2 x 23.9 cm, 4 columns, 27 lines; calligraphy by Reza ibn Ahmad al-Hosaini al-Shirazi; 57 illustrations by ‘Ali Akbar; published by Mohammad Baqer Shirazi

3. 1270/1853 Bombay; calligraphy by Aqa Baba

4. 1272/1855 Bombay (photomechanical reprint Bombay 1331/1913); size 25.5 x 35.5 cm, written space 19.5 x 30 cm, 6 columns, 33 lines; calligraphy by Mohammad Ebrahim ibn Mohammad Hosain Khan Ouliya’ Sami‘ al-Shirazi; 58 illustrations by Mohammad ibn Mirza Kazem al-Hosaini al-Shirazi; piblished by Mohammad-Baqer Shirazi

5. 1274/1857 Cawnpore

6. 1274–75/1857–58 Bombay; size 38.5 x 25.5 cm, written space 19.5 x 32 cm, 6 columns, 37 lines; calligraphy by ‘Abdalkarim ibn Mohammad Ebrahim al-Tabataba’i al-Esfahani al-Ardestani, Mohammad ibn ‘Abdallah al-Shirazi; published by Mohammad Sadeq Shirazi

7. 1275–76/1858–59 Bombay; size 21 x 31 cm, written space 16.5 x 27.5 cm, 6 columns, 37 lines; calligraphy by ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Mohammad Ebrahim al-Tabataba’i al-Esfahani al-Ardestani, Mirza Mohammad Reza ibn Aqa Mohammad Hosain Shirazi; published by Mirza Baqer ibn Mirza Kuchek Shirazi

8. 1275/1858 Bombay; calligraphy by Mirza Mohammad ibn Mirza ‘Ali Tabib Shahid-e Shirazi

9. 1276/1859 Bombay; size 22.5 x 33 cm, written space 16.5 x 26 cm, 6 columns, 32 lines; calligraphy by Mohammad Ebrahim ibn Mohammad-Hosain Khan Ouliya’ Sami‘; 56 illustrations by Mohammad ibn Mirza Kazem al-Hoseini al-Shirazi

10. 1279/1862 India

11. 1284/1867 Lucknow

12. 1287/1870 Lucknow; size 26.5 x 41 cm, written space 22 x 36 cm, 6 columns, 37 lines; calligraphy by Janki Parshad; publisher Newal Kishor

13. 1290/1874 Cawnpore

14. 1291/1875 Cawnpore

15. 1298–1300/1881–1883 Bombay; calligraphy by Mirza ‘Ali-Khan al-Fasavi; publisher Heidari


16. 1301/1884 Lucknow; size 30 x 19.5 cm; publisher Newal Kishor

17. 1306–1308/1888–1890 Bombay; size 23 x 32 cm, written space 18 x 27.5 cm, 6 columns, 37 lines; calligraphy by Seyyid Nazem-Hosein Razavi Muhani; published by Qazi ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Qazi Nur-Mohammad, Qazi Fath-Mohammad; publisher Fath al-Karim

18. 1308–1315/1890–1898 Bombay; size 24.5 x 33 cm, written space 18.5 x 28 cm, 6 columns, 37 lines; calligraphy by Mir Baraqani Mortaza al-Hosaini, ‘Ali-Reza ibn Abu l-Hasan ibn Mirza Aqa; published by Aqa Mirza Ebrahim Shirazi;publisher Naderi

19. 1314/1897 Cawnpore; size 31.5 cm; publisher Newal Kishor

20. 1315/1898 Bombay; publisher A’ine-ye Khorshid

21. 1321/1903 Bombay

22. 1326/1909 Cawnpore; size 21 x 32.5 cm; publisher Newal Kishor

23. 1338/1919 Cawnpore

Bibliography

Marzolph, Ulrich, Narrative Illustration in Persian Lithographed Books, Leiden, 2001. Marzolph, Ulrich, “Illustrated Persian Lithographic Editions of the Shahnameh”, Edebiyat, 13,2 (2002) 177–198. Nöldeke, Theodor, “Das iranische Nationalepos”, Grundriß der iranischen Philologie, vol. 2. ed. by Wilhelm Geiger and Ernst Kuhn. Strassburg, 1986–1904, pp. 130–211. Scheglova, Olimpiada P, “Lithograph versions of Persian manuscripts of Indian manu-facture in the nineteenth century”, Manuscripta Orientalia, 5,1 (1999) 12–22. Van Zutphen, Marjolijn, “Lithographed Editions of F rdaws ’s Sh hnam : A Comparative Study. In: Oriens, 37 (2009) 65–101.

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