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'Abd al-Samad

'Abd al-Samad extract from Britannica Online.

(flourished 16th century) Persian miniature painter. Born in Iran, he traveled to India and became one of the first members of the imperial atelier there. Through their teachings in India, he and fellow countryman M played a strong role in the foundation of the school of Mughal painting. 'Abd al-Samad supervised the majority of illustrations in the Mughal manuscript Dastan-e Amir Hamzeh, or Hamzanama, which included about 1,400 paintings. Favoured at court, in 1576 he was appointed master of the mint, and in 1584 he was made diwan (revenue commissioner) of Multan.

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