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[ Paintings ] [ Calligraphy ] [ Astronomical Instruments ]

The Rampur Raza Library is singularly rich in rare miniature, portrait, and illustrated manuscripts representing Mongol, Persian, Mughal Deccani, Rajput, Pahari, Awadh and British Schools of Paintings largely untapped wealth of the library holdings.

There are thirty five albums of portraits and miniatures in the library which contain nearly five thousand pictures of imminence historical value. There is a unique album disignated as Tilism of the early years of Akbars reign which contains 157 miniatures portraying the life of different strata of society besides Astrological and Magical concepts one of royal banner bears the Quranic verses and this symbolic Timurid banner are also painted with sun and lion. Others bear the Zodiac sign the album also bears the seals of Awadh Nawabs which indicate that it was in there possession. The library holding has an album bearing the portrait of Saints and Sufis also.

A very valuable album of Ragmala which illustrated the 35 Ragas and Ragnis through beautiful landscape gods and goddess young musicians both male and female, besides different whethers, times and moods, exclusively painted in 17 th century in Mughal style that are matchless.

Some of the album bear the portrait of Mongol Timurid and Mughal rulers with their princes and noblemen among the rulers mention may be made of Hulaqu, Timur, Babur, Humanyun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb, Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar, Gul Badan Begum, Nur Jahan, Baharam Khan, Itimad-ud- Daula, Asaf Khan, Burhan-ul-Mulk, Safdrar Jung, Shuja-ud-Daula, Asif-ud-Daula, Burhan Nizam Shah II, Abul Hahsan Tana Shah. Besides the collection includes the pictures of Iranian king and princes such as Ismail Safavi and Shah Abbas, there is a miniature of Maulana Rum Shirazi.

Among some royal painters whose works are preserved in the library are (1) Abul Hasan Nadir-uz-Zaman (1) Asi Qahar (3) Bichitr (4) Bhavani Das (5) Chitrman (6) Dal Chand (7) Ram Das (8) Sawla (9) Farrukh Chela (10) Fatah Chand (11) Kanha (12) Goverdhan (13) Govind (14) Lal Chand (15) Lekh Raj (16) Manohar (17) Muhammad Abid (18) Narsing (19) Thakur Das (20) Muhammad Afzal (21) Muhammad Husian (22) Muhammad Yusuf (23) Ghlam Murtaza etc.