The Return Of The Moghul

The axiom God is in the details is frequently used to describe the special appeal of miniature paintings. But when a manuscript that is literally one of a kind emerges from the Royal Library to be shown in its full glory for the first time in its history, the people behind the scenes need all the help they can get from God and other agencies to get the details right.

It took several months of co-ordination between the Royal Library in London, the National Museum in Delhi, and the offices of the British Council in New York, London and Delhi before the Padshahnama, the illustrated manuscript that chronicles the reign of Shah Jahan, was ready to be scrutinised by the eyes of the world.

 

The first hurdle was the toughest the insurance question. Says Lisa-Marie Morton of the Royal Library, There is no other manuscript in the world like the Padshahnama, so setting a value on it was very difficult. Insurance is normally calculated on the basis of auctions where objects of comparative value have been sold but the Padshahnama is unique, in that it is a complete, relatively undamaged manuscript from a critical period in Indian history.

Finally, the Royal Library set a notional value an estimate of what they felt it was worth and were charged by Bain Hogg, the insurers, on the basis of that estimate. The actual amount is confidential, but lets just say that the Hope Diamond comes a pretty close second. Says Sushma Behl of the British Council, who co-ordinated the exhibition in Delhi, Efforts were made to get the insurance done through an Indian agency, but their quotes were a lot higher. Bain Hogg is allied to Royal Insurance, which is connected with the Royal Library, and was able to offer a reasonable discount. The tab was picked up by the National Museum.

There were also the problems of safeguarding a centuries-old manuscript that had just been restored. When the Nawab of Lucknow presented the Padshahnama to Lord Teignmouth in 1797, the only precaution he took was to have the volume wrapped in the finest silk cloth available. But two hundred years of acid rain, smog and ozone holes down the line, the original silk wrappings have been replaced by slightly more modern materials.

Says Behl, We had special crates made, with made-to-order metal locks and tremendous reinforcement. The paintings were wrapped in polythene and then inserted into slots that were padded on both sides. The British Council and the National Museum decided against hiring a professional security agency. So the Padshahnama arrived with an escort fit for kings including Robert Skelton, former Keeper of the Indian Department in the Victoria & Albert Museum and several members of the Royal Library. There was a changing of the guard in Delhi, where the British Council and the National Museum took over.

The other big question involved the lighting. Behl recalls asking the curator of the British Museum why the lighting was so low at an exhibition of antique manuscripts she saw last year. His reply was simple: it was better for visitors to have to strain a little to see the manuscript than for future visitors not to be able to see it at all, since very bright lighting destroys the paper.

Working on that principle, the National Museum set the lighting for the exhibition at 50 Lux, which is the recommended international standard for works on paper. So visitors to the Padshahnama exhibition may have to peer through the gathering gloom at the illuminated pages, but its all for the good of their descendants. Inside, the temperature and humidity have also been carefully climate-controlled to preserve the manuscript. They made very good paper in those days, says Behl, and it was all handmade, so it lasts longer than our paper today.

Meanwhile, the sponsors hadnt been idle. Air India, which is covering the cost of flying the manuscript and its entourage around the world, threw its weight behind the security effort as well. ANZ Grindlays, which provided financial muscle through a sponsorship in the Rs 10 lakh range, kept in touch with the National Museum throughout the preparations. For ANZ, sponsoring Indias best-known medieval manuscript was the logical thing to do, considering the group often sponsors art shows in the Capital. And De La Rue offered its expertise as well as sponsorship the French firm specialises in high-security paper for items such as banknotes and chequebooks apart from paintings.

Air Indias part of the deal also included producing an exclusive folio of reproductions for the occasion. For us, it took just two-and-a-half months after we acquired the transparencies from the Royal Library, says Rohita Jaidka of Air India. It was two and a half months of hard labour, though, and had artists in the airlines publicity division working overtime to produce the limited edition of 2,000 copies.

It is likely to become a collectors item in the years to come. After its jaunt around the world, the Padshahnama will be rebound and returned to the Royal Library. And though it will remain on display, visitors will only be able to see one page at a time, as in the past. Ultimately, if someone asks whether all the security, the insurance, the handling and the organisation was worth it, the answer is likely to be a resounding yes from the people privileged and fortunate enough to have seen the Padshahnama unveiled.