Falnama
In the 16th century, Falnama manuscripts were introduced that used a different system; individuals performed purification rituals, opened a random page in the book and interpreted their fortune in light of the painting and its accompanying text.
[4] Only a few illustrated Falnamas now survive; these were commissioned by rich patrons and are unusually large books for the time, with bold, finely executed paintings.
[12] To answer a question, readers would perform ablutions, recite prayers from the Quran and then open the book at a random page.
[9] The Khalili Collection of Islamic Art includes a Falnama manuscript produced during the Qutb Shahi dynasty in 17th century Golconda, in what is now Hyderabad.
In this period, Golconda's alliance with Safavid Iran was of great military importance and was celebrated many times in art and literature, of which this Falnama is one example.
The expensive production of the manuscript and its textual advice relating to the business of court suggest it was made for a noble, or even royal, patron.
[11] The style of the paintings combines a strong Safavid influence with the bright colours associated with local Deccani art.
[21] The manuscript has many similarities with an illustrated volume of poetry presently at the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad; these include the use of bright colours and large amounts of gold as well as many pictorial elements and choices of imagery.
That volume is known to have been commissioned by the sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, whose support for art included funding a workshop bringing together local and foreign artists.
This suggests, but does not firmly establish, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah as the noble for whom the Khalili Falnama was originally created.
Twenty of the paintings are of subjects or stories that do not appear in any other Falnama, including the infant Moses in the lap of the Pharaoh and the murder of John the Baptist.
Although the text mentions Plato who is possibly sitting next to Aristotle, the figures are shown veiled with flaming haloes usually reserved for prophets.
[36] The story of Saleh miraculously causing a camel to be born from a rock appears several times in the Quran.
[37] The Kaaba is not shown as a black cube, matching its real appearance, but as a colourful domed structure resembling a tomb.
[43] Ali, mounted on Muhammad's mule Duldul and wielding the double-pointed sword Dhulfiqar, dominates the scene, representing his power and that of Islam.
[46] This scene is inspired both by Sadid al-Din Muhammad Ghaznavi's Maqamat-i Zhandah-pil and a rival account of Ahmad-i Jam's life, Siyar al-aqtab.
[48] Shaddad is briefly mentioned in the Quran and the tale of him meeting the Angel of Death is recounted in Mirkhvand's Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ (Garden of Purity).
[49] A ghilman is a prisoner of war, so this scene presumably refers to the execution of Nadr ibn al-Harith in the aftermath of Muhammad's triumph at the Battle of Badr.
[23] Corpses and severed heads litter the scene of an active battle between Tahmasp's forces and Ottoman Turks.
The Qisas al-Anbiya describes wood being cut and shaped with carpentry tools: an activity that fills almost all of this painting.
[61] The story of the death of Khusraw at the hands of his son is found in the Nizami's Khamsa, elaborating on a narrative from the Shahnameh.
[62] The Muslim legend of Zacharias is told by al-Tabari in the History of the Prophets and Kings, drawing from the story of Isaiah in Jewish and Christian traditions.
[65] This scene is based on Nizami's Iskandar-namah but shows the figures in a natural setting, surrounded by plants and animals, rather than in the fortress mentioned in the story.
Its 35 paintings include one each for the Moon, Sun, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and the realm of Paradise.
[12] The palace also holds an Ottoman Turkish version of the Falnama created for the Sultan Ahmed I in the early 17th century,[11] with 59 double-page spreads.
