Mukhlis Nishapuri

Shah Mahmud Nayshaburi (b. 1574), a calligrapher and poet with nom de plume Mukhlis and well-known as Zarrin-qalam. He was well-respected by the Safavid Shah Isma’il. In his early life he was a companion of Shah Tahmasb I and practiced the scribal profession with other scribes, painters, and other artists at the royal library. He went to Mashhad after a while and settled at the Qadamgah School, adjacent to Chahar Bagh, and devoted his time to prayers. He taught students like Qazi Ahmad Qumi, Salim Nayshaburi, Hajj Muhammad Tabrizi, Muhammad Hasan Bakharzi, Sultan Mahmud Turbati, and Qutb al-Din Yazdi for twenty years and at the same time copied books and wrote calligraphic pieces. His hand resembled Sultan ‘Ali in delicacy and Mir ‘Ali Hirawi in vigor and uniformity. He created a style in copying books, particularly in Khafi and Ghubar which was later completed by Baba Shah Isfahani. Shah Mahmud composed poetry of which 500 couplets are extant. His qasida in praise of Imam Reza is inscribed in the corridor of Dar al-Siyada, at the bottom of a minaret. The date of his death is recorded by the author of Gulistan-i Hunar as 1565, but in his treatise (written in 1581), Malik Daylami  makes mention of him as a living artist. His works reflect that he flourished in 1574.

Ahval va Asar-i Khushnivisan (2/ 295-307).