Abd al-Hayy
Miniaturist and draughtsman of the Jalayirid school of Baghdad, taken to Samarkand under Timur; a master of black-and-white ink drawings whose manner court painters imitated.
- Occupation:
- Artist
- Died:
- c. 1405
Biography
Khwaja Abd al-Hayy, known as Baghdadi, was a miniaturist and draughtsman of the late 14th and early 15th centuries. He worked in Baghdad at the court of the Jalayirid dynasty and later lived in Samarkand under Timur. The sources give neither his birth year nor his origins; his death is usually placed around 1405.
In Baghdad he trained under Ustad Shams al-Din, chief painter to the Jalayirid sultan Uways (r. 1356–1374). He later became the teacher of Uways’s son Ahmad, the future sultan Ahmad Jalayir, who also practised drawing.
The chief witness to his work is the calligrapher and art historian Dust Muhammad, who writes in his album preface of 1544 that Abd al-Hayy, together with Ahmad, produced an “Abu Sa‘id-nama” illustrated with black-and-white drawings. That manuscript has not survived, but albums preserve ink drawings of the late 14th century that scholars connect with his circle.
After Timur took Baghdad, the artist was carried off to Samarkand. Dust Muhammad places this in 1401; other scholars date it to 1393, the year of Timur’s first capture of the city. He lived in Timur’s capital for the rest of his life, and the Arab writer Ibn Arabshah mentions him among the skilled painters who worked for the emir.
The works attributed to him are ink or brush drawings with touches of gold and light colour, showing a particular interest in animals such as ducks and lions. His hand is hard to pin down: the name Abd al-Hayy was common, and the claim that he painted the walls of Timurid palaces is regarded by scholars as insufficiently supported. According to Dust Muhammad, Samarkand’s masters imitated his work after his death.
Career
- Timurid EmpireCourt painter · …–1405
Life path
- Second half of the 14th centuryTraining in Baghdad
Studied under Ustad Shams al-Din, chief painter to the Jalayirid sultan Uways.
- Late 14th centuryTeacher of Ahmad Jalayir
Taught drawing to Uways’s son Ahmad, who later became sultan.
- Late 14th century“Abu Sa‘id-nama”
According to Dust Muhammad, he made with Ahmad a manuscript with black-and-white drawings; it has not survived.
- 1393 or 1401Removal to Samarkand
After Timur took Baghdad the master was taken to Samarkand; sources differ on the year.
- Around 1405Death in Samarkand
Died in Samarkand; the year of death is approximate.
- 1544Dust Muhammad’s testimony
In his album preface Dust Muhammad recorded that after the master’s death Samarkand artists imitated his work.
Works
- “Abu Sa‘id-nama” (drawings)Manuscript with black-and-white drawings (lost)
Made with Ahmad ibn Uways according to Dust Muhammad; only roughly contemporary drawings in albums survive.
- Marginal drawings in Ahmad Jalayir’s DivanDrawings in a manuscript (attribution)
Attributed to him on stylistic similarity to the depiction of a woman with a child.
- Drawings of animalsInk drawings (attribution)
Drawings of ducks and lions that scholars connect with his manner; secure attribution is not possible.
Legacy
An artist formed by the Jalayirid school of Baghdad, he ended up at the Timurid court in Samarkand: according to Dust Muhammad, Samarkand’s masters imitated his work after his death, and albums preserve copies made from his drawings. His manner — monochrome drawing with gold and light colour — is considered influential for the art of the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
Era: Jalayirids and Timurids, late 14th – early 15th century- Timur takes Baghdad and the master moves to Samarkand (1393)
- Dust Muhammad writes the album preface that tells of the artist (1544)