Simon Ray | Indian & Islamic Works of Art

SIMON INDIAN

R AY

& ISLAMIC WORKS OF ART

SIMON

R AY

INDIAN & ISLAMIC WORKS OF ART

21 KING STREET, ST. JAMES’S LONDON

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SIMON

R AY

INDIAN & ISLAMIC WORKS OF ART

THURSDAY 1ST NOVEMBER 2012 TO FRIDAY 30TH NOVEMBER 2012

10AM TO 6PM MONDAY TO FRIDAY

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S

It is with great pleasure that I present this eleventh catalogue of Simon Ray Indian & Islamic Works of Art. I would like to thank the many scholars and experts who have so kindly and generously helped us prepare this catalogue: Robert Skelton, Jerry Losty, John Seyller, Rosemary Crill, Andrew Topsfield, Catherine Glynn, Will Kwiatkowski, Katrina van Grouw and Adeela Qureshi.

The presentation of works of art is an important aspect of an exhibition and I would like to thank the following for their expert assistance in the beautiful display of the works of art: Helen Loveday, John Wagstaff, Louise Gooch, Colin Bowles, Daniel Stevens, Tim Blake and Janie Lightfoot.

Leng Tan has written the entries for this catalogue. I would like to thank Leng for his meticulous research and writing that conveys the essence of each work so beautifully.

I would also like to thank William Edwards for writing many of the catalogue entries, as well as his invaluable assistance during every stage of catalogue production.

Finally, I would like to thank Alan Tabor for his wonderful photography, Richard Harris for all the repro and colour preparation and Peter Keenan for his elegant design that presents these works of art so beautifully.

Simon Ray

C

O

N

T

E

Sculpture

N

T

S

6

Timurid Tile

10

Iznik Tiles

12

Iznik Ceramics

18

Safavid Tiles

22

Qajar Tile Panel

26

Mughal Tile

28

Mughal Jade

30

Ivory & Wood

34

Bidri

42

Indian Enamel Work

44

Indian Metalwork

46

Indian Jewellery

48

Persian Paintings

52

Indian Paintings

58

Lucknow Paintings

140

Fraser Paintings

146

Company School Paintings

156

Indian Textiles

196

Indian Stonework

202

1 VA R A H A

EASTERN INDIA (ORISSA), 13TH CENTURY

is balanced the earth, personified as Bhudevi, who sits upon a pedestal base.

HEIGHT: 58.5 CM WIDTH: 29 CM DEPTH: 15 CM

As a saviour deity, Vishnu appears in various incarnations or avatars to save the earth from disaster.

Varaha is the third of Vishnu’s ten incarnations and is well-known for a myth concerned with creation.

When the whole world was flooded, the earth was trapped underwater by a sea-demon. Vishnu, in the form of a boar, dived down into the ocean and rescued the earth.

Vishnu temples in Orissa had three images in the outer niches of the main shrine. This sculpture would have been placed on the south side, with the man-lion Narasimha on the west, and Trivikrama, who was the Lord of the Three Worlds and an incarnation of the dwarf avatar Vamana to the north.

A finely carved, pierced and polished grey stone (possibly chlorite) carving of Vishnu in his boar form Varaha, stepping to the right on a lotus pedestal, carrying his attributes of a conch and discus or chakra, his left elbow balancing the figure of Bhudevi, the Earth Goddess, whom he has rescued from the primordial waters. She is also one of his principle spouses.

Below to the left is a further figure of his attendant Gadadevi.

Varaha is richly bejewelled and wears a short dhoti with a finely incised floral pattern secured at his waist with an elaborately ornamental and festooned girdle.

Further anklets, bracelets and upper arm ornaments decorate his body as well as a spectacular necklace.

A large circular earring or karnphul can be seen to his right ear. His head is held high, with mouth slightly open giving him a confident swagger. He holds the chakra in his upper right hand and a conch shell in the lower left. The mace he usually holds has been replaced by his attendant Gadadevi, who is its female personification. His upper left arm is bent, and at the elbow

A similar sculpture of Varaha from Orissa can be seen in the British Museum, London, reference OA 1872.7-1.44.

Provenance: Private American Collection The Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck Collection On loan to The Art Institute of Chicago from 1980-1985 Private Portuguese Collection

Exhibited: The Art Institute of Chicago

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2 YA K S H A W O O D E N S T R U T

NEPAL (KATHMANDU VALLEY ), 15TH CENTURY HEIGHT: 150 CM WIDTH: 21 CM DEPTH: 13 CM

A finely carved wooden temple strut or tunala depicting an androgynous looking figure, probably a yaksha or tree god associated with the spirit of nature, resting against a tree, his legs crossed and standing upon a pair of small seated figures below.

Standing in tribhanga or a slight S-curve beneath a flowering tree, he is portrayed with his face looking slightly down and with a peaceful expression. A central raised urna sits between his curving eyebrows and a large circular earring hangs down from each side resting on his shoulders. Above, he wears an elaborate crown. His body is decorated in fine jewellery, including upper armlets and a large necklace.

The remains of what appears to be a further chain-linked necklace hang down from his neck over his naked upper torso. He wears a short dhoti around the waist, and stands nonchalantly on a pair of dwarves

who strain to support his weight.

The urna and elaborate jewellery he wears confirm that he is a deity.

In Nepal, temples are often wooden in construction, and the struts used for supporting the eaves of the roof are typically carved with figures standing underneath tree canopies and on the backs of male dwarves.

The pose of this yaksha echoes that of Shalabhanjika sculptures found in northern India from the Kushan period, for example that illustrated in our Simon Ray 2003 catalogue Indian and Islamic Works of Art, pp. 12-17, cat. no. 2.

Similar wooden struts can be seen in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

A wooden strut depicting Ganesha is published in Pratapaditya Pal, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, 1997, p. 63, cat. no. 73.

Provenance: Private Portuguese Collection

3 E I G H T - P O I N T E D S TA R T I L E

a rich aubergine glaze and mixed with four small turquoise rosettes, one to each corner. To the centre is a cream glazed rosette. A series of unglazed brown quatrefoils follow the cartouche round all its sides, and sit on a cream glazed ground.

Outside of this thin border are right-angled turquoise edged cartouches filled with further twisting arabesque floral sprays, which frame the central star to all sides.

WESTERN CENTRAL ASIA (TIMURID), 15TH CENTURY HEIGHT: 38.5 CM WIDTH: 28.5 CM DEPTH: 5 CM

A large terracotta tile, finely and deeply carved in two different levels of relief, with an intricate symmetrical polychrome glazed design of a central eight-pointed star cartouche surrounded by a further right-angled cartouche to each corner, all separated by repeated unglazed quatrefoils.

The floral and geometric elements float against the deeper recesses of the aubergine ground, giving a wonderful play of levels. The sharp angles of the turquoise cartouches contrast with the informal sweeping curves of the inner purple fields, creating a feeling of depth and movement.

The central cartouche has a thin turquoise and aubergine border and holds within it an intricate pattern of swirling arabesque split-leaf palmettes, covered in

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4 CLOUD BANDS AND AR ABESQUES

TURKEY (IZNIK), CIRCA 1580

bands in white with sealing wax red detail, and centrally placed white cusped cartouches with cobalt and raised red coloured inner palmettes. To the right of the large niche is a pattern of swirling arabesque split-leaf palmettes and small sprouting tendrils in white with raised red detail, against a rich cobalt blue ground painted with vigorous brushwork.

HEIGHT: 36 CM WIDTH: 16.5 CM

A rectangular polychrome underglaze-painted tile in colours of cobalt blue, white, turquoise, black and sealing wax red, featuring a design of cloud bands within a large cartouche framed by scrolling arabesque tendrils, all painted with a black outline.

Scrolling cloud bands such as depicted here can be seen in situ on tiles in the interior of the tomb of Süleyman I in Istanbul. A full tile of this design can be seen in Hülya Bilgi, Dance of Fire: Iznik Tiles and Ceramics in the Sadberk Hanim Museum and Ömer M. Koç Collections, 2009, p. 326.

Filling half of the tile is part of a large niche or crenel, painted in a vibrant turquoise hue and with an inner white border mirroring its curves. The field within contains stylised scrolling chinoiserie cloud

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5 FLOR AL BORDER TILE

TURKEY (IZNIK), CIRCA 1575

sealing wax red or Armenian bole.

Two composite lotus palmettes with flecked cobalt leaves sit above and below a further composite flower, its cusped parts individually highlighted by the white ground surrounding them. Part of a further rosette, its fragments again floating against the brilliant white ground can be seen to the top. A thin sealing wax red border frames the design to the left.

HEIGHT: 22.7 CM WIDTH: 10 CM

A polychrome underglaze-painted border tile in colours of cobalt blue, emerald green and raised sealing wax red against a crisp white ground. The design contains part of a stylised, scrolling floral pattern, and along with similar tiles would have framed an inner group of floral motif tiles to the wall of a mosque, palace or other important building.

This tile exemplifies the crisp design, bold colour, brilliant white ground and thick glaze indicative of the highest quality of Iznik production. A similar border tile can be seen in Hülya Bilgi, Dance of Fire: Iznik Tiles and Ceramics in the Sadberk Hanim Museum and Ömer M. Koç Collections, 2009, p. 164.

The four different vertical sprays are connected by overlapping vines with budded tendrils and a single saz leaf, and are all painted with a palette of vibrant cobalt, green and

15

6 S A Z L E AV E S A N D C O M P O S I T E L O T U S P A L M E T T E S

smaller rosette sprays. The tendrils link the large composite flowers together, helping to unify the design.

The saz leaves are coloured half in green and half sealing wax red, and curve as if blown by an unseen breeze. To the top left, a cusped chinoiserie style cloud band cartouche floats independently, a single green leaf emerging from below and a further splash of green above.

TURKEY (IZNIK), CIRCA 1580 HEIGHT: 24.7 CM WIDTH: 24.7 CM

A square underglaze-painted polychrome tile in shades of emerald green, cobalt blue and sealing wax red against a white ground.

The design consists of large composite lotus palmettes with cusped leaves painted in light blue with darker outlines and dappled detail. Splashes of emerald green and sealing wax red suggest other parts of the flowers including the buds and calyxes. Sprouting from each palmette are tendrils, accompanying saz leaves and

For a tile with a similar group of palmettes and saz leaves, see Hülya Bilgi, Dance of Fire: Iznik Tiles and Ceramics in the Sadberk Hanim Museum and Ömer M. Koç Collections, 2009, p. 209. A similar group of tiles can be seen in situ in the mosques of Ramazan Oğlu and Takieci Ibrahim Ağa.

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7 F L O W E R VA S E

TURKEY (IZNIK), CIRCA 1590 HEIGHT: 16.5 CM DIAMETER: 14 CM

A fine underglaze-painted polychrome vase of baluster shape, depicting a floral design outlined in black, in shades of cobalt blue, sealing wax red and emerald green against a crisp white ground, the bulbous body rising from a wide and sloping foot and terminating to the top in an inverted mouth, the shoulder pierced with a band of holes for the stems of floral sprays.

The sloping foot is painted with two wide borders, one decorated with a mixture of stylised floral sprays and the other a pattern of alternating emerald lappets and cobalt trefoil cartouches. A plain white collar frames the decoration above and below.

The main field of the vase is contained within double-lined borders. Here, the focal point seems to be vibrant sealing wax red roses, one addorsed pair to each side of the vase. The roses hang down from slender stems which bend under the sheer weight of the sprays, creating almost heart-shaped cartouches.

Thin elongated leaves tussle with shorter squat varieties along the stems, which are further punctuated by single cobalt rosettes. The rose cartouches contain to their centre a cusped double palmette motif, with the top half mirroring the heart shape of the floral cartouche surrounding it.

a border of alternating emerald lappets and cobalt serrated leaves with red buds, the centre of each one pierced to hold a floral stem.

The neck of the vase has a ground of rich sealing wax red, decorated with a white rope border. The inverted mouth has an unusual marbled pattern painted in black against a white ground.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.2002.1.16). Another vase in the Godman Collection is illustrated in Arthur Lane, Later Islamic Pottery, 1957, pl. 41. Interestingly, the Godman vase bears a mark to its base which suggests it could have been made for the Italian market.1

Smaller stylised rosette sprays twist and turn between the roses and the emerald green cypress trees, which rise stiffly from the lower border on either side. Above the main field is

The shape of this rare and unusual vase could well have been inspired by Islamic metalwork vessels. A similar vase is in the Madina Collection of Islamic Art,

The Vincent Bulent Collection

Provenance:

19

Reference: 1. Arthur Lane, Later Islamic Pottery, 1957, p. 59.

8 ANIMALS IN A LANDSCAPE

TURKEY (IZNIK), CIRCA 1600 DIAMETER: 31 CM

A polychrome underglaze-painted dish on a short foot and with a sloping rim, in colours of emerald green, cobalt blue and sealing wax red against a white ground, featuring a composition of various animals within borders of trefoil palmettes and stylised lappet sprays drawn with black outlines.

The central emerald green roundel contains a rhythmically painted group of animals, caught in various poses. To the top, a pair of confronted lions with raised red collars eye a plump bird just above them, as if waiting for the moment to pounce. Below, a larger lion seems to have just finished eating his prey, his mouth perhaps stained with the blood of the kill. To the bottom of the field is a single grinning hare, captured as if in mid-movement, perhaps escaping from the lion above. Scrolling tendrils and stylised tufts of grass fill the remaining ground, though according to John Carswell, these subsidiary designs were in fact stylised oak leaves.1 The white animals contrast with the vibrant emerald green ground, and splashes of sealing wax red further heighten the scene.

A band of red trefoil lappets frame a triple black border surrounding the main field. A deep cavetto in plain white separates this from the rim, where a repeated border of lappets with red buds sits on a half green and half cobalt ground.

To the reverse, alternating cobalt stylised snail shells and green floral sprays decorate the cavetto.

There are three Iznik dishes attributed to the late sixteenth century in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, the David Collection, Copenhagen, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Collection, Lisbon, which have depictions of the fluid and playful animals found in our example.

A near identical animal dish can be seen in Frederic Hitzel and Mireille Jacotin, Iznik: L’aventure d’une collection: Les ceramiques ottomane du musée national de la Renaissance, 2005, p. 289, pl. 429. Similar dishes can also be seen in Maria Queiroz Ribeiro, Iznik Pottery, 1996, pp.

246-247, and Hülya Bilgi, Dance of Fire: Iznik Tiles and Ceramics in the Sadberk Hanim Museum and Ömer M. Koç Collections, 2009, p. 466.

According to John Carswell, it is possible that these images of playful animals were inspired by pieces of Balkan silver, which were popular in sixteenth century Turkey.2

References: 1. John Carswell, Iznik Pottery, 1998, p. 85.

2. Ibid., p. 84.

9 W AT E R F O W L I N A G A R D E N

IRAN (SAFAVID), 17TH CENTURY HEIGHT: 21.8 CM WIDTH: 21.8 CM

A tile in the cuerda seca technique with a design of a duck or waterfowl in a glade of luxuriant leaves and flowers, painted in hues of turquoise, cobalt blue, yellow, brown, grey, manganese and green against a white ground.

The duck glances upward and to the right from the bottom of the tile, surveying the scene with an inquisitive air. It has a brown head, yellow cheeks and a flat turquoise bill. Offering shade above the duck is a magnificent spray of stylised flowers and green serrated leaves

sprouting from dark manganese purple vines. The bold flowers have cobalt and yellow petals and turquoise calyxes.

To the lower left corner is an ornate coil of serrated turquoise vines enclosing bi-coloured green and yellow leaves against a cobalt blue ground. Elements of the natural landscape have been ordered into a decorative arabesque. Turquoise vines, green leaves and composite polychrome flowers tower above to continue the arabesque. The vibrant colours of the tile are further enhanced by the more unusual white ground. To the top and right are green and dark manganese borders indicating that this tile formed the corner of a pictorial composition.

10 T R U M P E T VA S E A N D F L O R A L S P R AY S

IRAN (SAFAVID), 17TH CENTURY

a cobalt ground and pattern of alternating green and yellow lappets. From the vase emanate a variety of floral sprays in yellow, blue and turquoise, with manganese stems and green leaves, with some having grey calyxes. A large five-petalled rosette with a white segmented middle is superimposed in front of these sprays to the centre of the tile, acting as a focal point for the design.

HEIGHT: 22.4 CM WIDTH: 22.3 CM

A polychrome corner tile in the cuerda seca technique in shades of yellow, cobalt blue, turquoise, manganese and green against a white ground, featuring a large spray of stylised flowers spouting forth from a multi-coloured vase.

There is a double border in green and dark manganese purple to the top and left, indicating that this tile was a corner from a much larger panel.

The flared trumpet mouth of the vase appears from the bottom right corner of the tile, painted with a turquoise border surrounding

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11 CYPRESS TREE AND ANIMALS

IRAN (QAJAR PERIOD IN THE SAFAVID STYLE), 19TH CENTURY

At the base of the panel, a flowing stream waters the glade in which the animals have come to eat and relax. The panel is surrounded by an integral turquoise, grey and black floral border with lotus palmettes linked by scrolling vines and pairs of serrated leaves.

HEIGHT: 141 CM WIDTH: 117.5 CM

A large and magnificent rectangular tile panel in the cuerda seca technique, comprising thirty square tiles painted in bold colours of cobalt blue, turquoise, yellow, ochre, grey, black and sage green to create a symmetrical floral landscape filled with animals and birds.

This panel is painted in the Safavid revival style of the late nineteenth century, based on the nostalgia for Safavid miniatures and tile panels amongst Qajar artists of the time, who studied the drawings, paintings and ceramic decorations of the seventeenth century to emulate earlier techniques and stylistic devices.

The focal point of this panel is a large cypress tree to the centre, flanked to either side by zoomorphic turquoise half-vases with serrated edges and filled with stylised floral sprays. The surrounding cobalt ground is covered with various vibrantly painted floral rosettes and leaves, chinoiserie cloud bands and addorsed and confronted birds and animals.

According to Maryam Ekhtiar and Marika Sardar, outside forces also contributed to the continuation of traditions in the decorative arts of the Qajar period. The European market for Persian ceramics, for instance, gave impetus to a revival of the lustre technique and a renewed interest in traditional ceramic methods, as recorded in a ˛ treatise by the famous potter Ali Muhammad Isfahani (active 1870s to 1888), On the Manufacture of Modern Kashi Earthenware Tiles and Vases, published in Edinburgh in 1888.1

A lotus flower sits atop the cypress tree and flanking it is a pair of large perching birds, with grey flecked chests and multi-coloured wings.

They are possibly kestrels but their depiction hints of a phoenix or simurgh. Each bird is flanked by a green duck, its head bending down as if picking fruit or insects from the flora below. Lower down are further pairs of smaller birds, all flanking the sage green cypress tree. Below its ochre coloured trunk are addorsed pairs of lions and gazelles. As if in a captured moment, we see the yellow lions leaping at the grazing and seated prey before them who are as yet unaware of their perilous position.

Reference: 1. Maryam Ekhtiar and Marika Sardar, “Nineteenth-Century Iran: Continuity and Revivalism”, on the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History on the Metropolitan Museum of Art website, October 2004, http://www. metmuseum.org/toah/hd/crir/hd_crir.htm.

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12 LILIES AND JARDINIÈRE NORTHERN INDIA (MUGHAL, PROBABLY LAHORE OR KASHMIR), 17TH CENTURY the vase issue a cluster of vines and tightly curled leaves.

HEIGHT: 20.5 CM WIDTH: 16 CM

The lilies and jardinière combine to evoke an air of rarefied horticultural pursuits.

It is as if we have been allowed a glimpse of a secret garden, perfectly cultivated and ornamented. The fresh, brilliant colours of the tile, glowing against the sunny yellow ground, evoke the warmth and light of a bright summer afternoon.

A tile in the cuerda seca technique painted in rich glazes of cobalt blue, orangey ochre brown, aubergine and emerald green on a vivid yellow ground, highlighted by glints of white and outlined by the dark manganese brown of the cuerda seca technique. The design consists of two delicate stylised lily flowers to the right and what seems at first to be a luxuriantly scrolling leafy vine that sprouts with baroque vigour up the left edge of the tile, but is in fact part of a fantastical botanical jardinière of baluster form, half plant and half ornament.

A tile of similar design showing more of the fantastical botanical jardinière is published in the 2005 Simon Ray Indian and Islamic Works of Art catalogue, pp. 60-61, cat. no. 27.

The lily to the top of the tile forms the focus of the design. Its brown petals softly unfurl with curling tips to reveal blue insides and three trembling green stamens. The lily below, with similarly bi-coloured petals, has an arched stem and a twisting leaf in two shades of green that pierces the clear yellow centre of the tile.

A group of Mughal tiles with similar colours and in the cuerda seca technique can be seen in the Nehru Gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, part of a larger collection of Mughal tiles in the museum. One of these tiles is published by Susan Stronge in her chapter on “The Age of the Mughals” in John Guy and Deborah Swallow (eds.), Art of India: 1550-1900, 1990, p. 88, pl. 65.

The exquisite naturalism of the lilies is contrasted by the tiered jardinière to the left. Serrated leaf forms hint at a lobed vase with a bulbous body, short neck and widening then narrowing rim. From the mouth of

The Mughal tiles at the Victoria and Albert Museum are discussed in her article, Susan Stronge, “Mughal Tiles from the Reign of Shah Jahan” in Arts of Asia, December 2011, vol. 41, no. 6, pp. 133-138.

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13 DARK GREEN JADE INKPOT

INDIA (MUGHAL), LATE 16TH/EARLY 17TH CENTURY HEIGHT: 6.3 CM DIAMETER: 8.4 CM

Jahangir’s inkpot does not have a lug to the rim. Instead, the foot is fitted with a gold ring through which is passed a gold chain that connects to a detachable gold cap that fits snugly around the mouth of the inkpot.

A magnificent dark green nephrite jade inkpot of globular form, rising from a short ring foot to a short waisted neck. The rim has a carved and pierced protruding lug through which a metal cover would have been attached to prevent the ink from drying out. The body of the inkpot is finely carved with five large rosettes between bands of lotus flowers and radiating petals above and below. The overlapping petals at the base have alternating curling tips as if ruffled by the wind. The inkpot stands on a short foot with a plain base underneath.

The very dark green jade of all these examples was chosen so that the precious stone would not show the stains of black ink. A light green or white jade would have been unattractively stained whereas the patina of dark green jade would be visually unaffected by ink, in fact immeasurably improved by rendering the interior almost opaque when a residue of ink builds up. The same principal applies to modern inkpots made of very dark blue glass that look attractive whether the pot is almost full of ink or almost completely empty.

A very similar inkpot of identical height and closely related decoration carved from nephrite jade is in the al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait National Museum. This is illustrated in Manuel Keene with Salam Kaoukji, Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals, 2001, p. 115, no. 9.14 (LNS 299 HS). Keene dates this inkpot to probably the last quarter of the sixteenth century.

The Kuwait inkpot is also dark green in colour and has a lug for attaching the metal cover on one side.

Welch speculates that Jahangir may have used his inkpot when writing his memoirs, the Tuzuk-i Jahangiri, or whilst signing imperial decrees.

Although Jahangir is better known as a lover of painting, he was an equally discerning admirer of useful objects. In the Tuzuk, objets de vertu are mentioned as frequently as pictures or architecture, and inspecting those made or collected for him was part of his daily round.1

It is still worked by craftsmen in Agra and Banaras. They sit on the ground, first cutting the material into convenient form with a bow saw fitted with two metal strings and an abrasive of sand moistened with water.3 Shaping and ornamenting is then accomplished with a bow lathe powered by one hand pulling back and forth on the bow while the other hand holds the object against the cutting wheel. Hollowing out an object such as the inkpot was accomplished with drill-like implements, similarly powered.4

Provenance: The Reverend Dr. Nevil Maskelyne, The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, until 1811.

His daughter Margaret Maskelyne at Bassett Down, Wiltshire, and thence by descent.

The Reverend Dr. Nevil Maskelyne FRS

Of related form and similar size is a dark green nephrite jade inkpot dated 1618-1619 that once belonged to the Emperor Jahangir, and is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This is illustrated in Stuart Cary Welch, India: Art and Culture 1300-1900, 1985, p. 194, cat. no. 122. According to Welch, the compact powerfully rounded shape of the jade inkpot is just the right size and weight for ink, and to dip reed pens into without tipping it over.

(6th October 1732 – 20th July 1811) was the fifth English Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811. He was a close friend of Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive of Plassey and the East India Company’s Governor of Bengal. Maskelyne’s sister, Margaret, married Clive in 1753 in Madras. It is a possibility that Clive gave this jade inkpot to his brother-in-law.

In 1785 Maskelyne married Sophia Rose of Cotterstock, Northamptonshire. Their only child, Margaret (1786–1858), was

Certainly our inkpot and that of the al-Sabah Collection, both dating to the same period as that of Jahangir’s, would have been similarly esteemed by their illustrious owners as exquisite yet useful and portable works of art that were equal parts sculpture, jewellery and scholar’s object.

the mother of Mervyn Herbert Nevil Story-Maskelyne (1823–1911), professor of mineralogy at Oxford from 1856 to 1895 and Keeper of Minerals at the British Museum from 1857 to 1880.

Exhibited: Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire The British Library, London

According to Welch, nephrite is a very hard stone, difficult and slow to work. It was imported into Mughal India from Khotan and from the K’un-lun mountains on the southern border of Sinkiang, where it was found in river beds into which it had tumbled due to erosion.2

30

9th November 2012 to 2nd April 2013

References: 1. Stuart Cary Welch, India: Art and Culture 1300-1900, 1985, p. 194.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

14 FIVE JADE STEM CUPS

INDIA (MUGHAL), 18TH CENTURY HEIGHT: 5.4 CM HEIGHT: 5.4 CM HEIGHT: 5.4 CM HEIGHT: 5.1 CM HEIGHT: 5.1 CM

DIAMETER: 4.3 CM DIAMETER: 4.1 CM DIAMETER: 4.1 CM DIAMETER: 4.1 CM DIAMETER: 4.1 CM

A set of five elegant carved and gem-set white jade stem cups, each small and delicate U-shaped cup rising from a splayed foot and elongated stem, the exteriors finely

set with cabochon and flat-cut rubies and emeralds and table-cut diamonds within gold collets and florets to form stylised floral sprays.

The smoothly polished interiors, stems and base of the feet are undecorated to provide a contrast to the beautifully set jewels. The translucent jade has a milky white tone tinged with pale celadon, providing the perfect colour ground for the setting of the gemstones while allowing the passage of light to illuminate the cups from within.

Four of the stem cups have the same design. Rising from red ruby mounds flanked by green emerald leaves, are stylised flowers with diamond centres, from which radiate five ruby petals. Each flower is surmounted by three ruby stamens on long quivering gold stems that nod towards the left as if blown by the wind. Each cup is set with five floral sprays, spaced by single green emerald leaves that seem to float in the air between the sprays. A band of gold frames the frieze just below the rim of each cup. The foot of each cup is decorated with ruby flower buds on short gold stems.

design of four floral sprays, each flower with a large tear-shaped diamond to the centre from which radiate seven diamond petals outlined by chased bronze wires.

The flowers are perched on bronze stems that rise from a ruby mound flanked by emerald leaves. Floating between each floral spray is a diamond flower bud with a ruby calyx and bronze stem. A band of gold frames the design just below the rim of the cup. The foot is decorated with ruby and gold buds framed by a band of gold.

The design of flowers with red stamens can be seen in Mughal jade monals (hookah mouth-pieces) of the same period at the Salar Jang Museum, Hyderabad.

A single white jade stem cup of similar form is illustrated in the Spink 1994 catalogue, Treasures of the Courts, p. 25, cat. no. 17.

A stem cup of similar form, set only with rubies around the foot, is in the Guthrie Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (02546 IS).

Provenance:

The fifth wine cup is slightly taller and has a related but contrasting

Acquired in Paris between the 1970s and the early 1990s.

15 D O C U M E N T B OX

SOUTHERN INDIA (VIZAGAPATAM), CIRCA 1720 HEIGHT: 15.5 CM WIDTH: 63.5 CM DEPTH: 41 CM

A rosewood and ebony document box on short turned feet with a hinged lid and central sprung lock, decorated with scrolling floral patterns of inlaid ivory to all sides, the interior plain save for a central ivory floral motif and thin border.

The outside of the box has been finely inlaid with ivory to form interlocking patterns of stylised scrolling arabesque tendrils and floral sprays. To the centre of the lid is a circular ivory medallion, engraved in lac with a design of a double-headed eagle. Surrounding this is the scrolling floral pattern, contained to the edges by alternating pairs of borders, either double-lined or with overlapping leaf patterns. A further thin oval border decorates the scrolling ground between the medallion and the outer edges.

All four sides of the box are inlaid with the same floral ivory patterns

within lined borders. To the front, the centrally placed keyhole has a thin ivory band surrounding it in the form of a pinched cartouche.

Four domed steel bosses are placed around the keyhole, holding the lock in place. Further domed bosses secure the hinges to the top and back of the box.

To the interior, a splendid stylised floral motif in ivory has been inlaid to the lid. A thin ivory rectangular border frames it to all sides. The rest of the interior is plain, emphasising the rich, dark colour of the wood.

For a similar example, see Amin Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon: A Catalogue of the Collections in the Victoria and Albert Museum

and the Peabody Essex Museum, 2001, p.181, fig. 80.

The document box illustrated by Jaffer has the coat of arms of the Mossel family in the central medallion. Jacob Mossel was the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1750-1762. It is possible that our double-headed eagle may similarly be a European coat of arms, though double-headed birds are also seen as princely motifs in southern India, for example the Gandabherunda, the fabulous double-headed bird that is the symbol of the Wodeyars of Mysore.

16 I V O R Y A N D S A N D A LW O O D B U R E AU - C A B I N E T

SOUTHERN INDIA (VIZAGAPATAM), CIRCA 1800 HEIGHT: 81.5 CM WIDTH: 61.5 CM DEPTH: 29.5 CM

An etched ivory and sandalwood table bureau-cabinet, with six drawers, two doors and a drop down front, standing on shaped bracket feet, and decorated with trailing flowers and foliage borders to the front and sides.

The elegantly proportioned cabinet retains an element of grandeur, despite its diminutive size. To the top, a cornice with repeated floral and leafy sprays sits above a wide frieze drawer and four graduated short drawers, which are flanked by doors to either side. Upon opening each door, one discovers three further inner drawers and four pigeon holes, all with decorated ivory veneers. The drop-down front below reveals a fitted interior with seven drawers, three pigeon holes and two concealed upright compartments cleverly disguised as columns. The deep drawer to the bottom of the cabinet is fitted with lidded divisions and four glass bottles.

The finely etched decorative bands highlighted in lac which decorate the front and sides of the cabinet depict stylised floral sprays and leafy fronds which meander around the plain central ivory spaces, and are barely contained within thin-lined borders. The drawers, doors and drop-down front are each fitted with a simple brass escutcheon surrounding a keyhole for securing the contents of each internal space; this would have comprised important letters, jewellery or money. To the base, each bracket leg is decorated with a mythical beast, a makara, as well as further stylised foliage.

Throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, workshops

in Vizagapatam, a port on the Coromandel Coast, manufactured smaller objects such as miniature cabinets, caskets and boxes in large quantities. Easily portable, they attracted more business from passing trade than large pieces of furniture. Vizagapatam possessed the ingredients necessary for the success of a centre of furniture-making.

Located in the Northern Circars, local craftsmen had access to many fine indigenous timbers such as teak, ebony and rosewood and as a major port on historic trading routes between Europe and the Far East, other materials, such as ivory, padouk and sandalwood

were also readily available.1 From the late seventeenth century Vizagapatam was renowned for its craftsmen’s skill in veneering, inlaying and engraving ivory over wooden carcasses. The intricate designs produced there were aligned to Western forms and often engraved with Western scenes.

Furniture and objects manufactured in Vizagapatam were considered luxury goods and retailed in Madras and Calcutta. They were popularised by examples brought back to the West by dignitaries and officials of the East India Company such as Edward Harrison, Governor of Fort St. George (Madras) from 1711 to 1717, Clive of India and Warren Hastings.

A miniature ivory veneered bureau-cabinet of comparable form but decorated with European-style buildings is illustrated in Amin Jaffer, Luxury Goods from India: The Art of the Indian Cabinet-Maker, 2002, pp. 80-81, no. 33.

Reference: 1. Amin Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon: A Catalogue of the Collections in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum, 2001, p.172.

17 IVORY SNAKE CHARMER

INDIA (LUCKNOW ), 19TH CENTURY HEIGHT: 14.5 CM WIDTH: 13 CM DEPTH: 10 CM

A carved ivory model depicting a snake charmer (sapera) surrounded by various snakes, accoutrements and utensils of his trade. The charming scene takes place on a rectangular dais with a pierced and cusped jali apron on each side, standing on four feet.

The sapera stands in front of a circular open wicker basket from which a black cobra rises with flared hood, enchanted by the snake charmer’s flute (pungi or bean) that he plays with one hand, and the small white snake writhing in his other hand. The cobra is made of horn or ebony, beautifully carved with sinuous coils and protruding tongue. We can imagine the darting, swaying movements of the cobra, mesmerised by the music of the pungi.

Often called the snake charmer’s flute, the pungi is a type of folk clarinet with two pipes that originated in the Middle East. It is the Indian version of the Egyptian arghul and is a double clarinet similar to the murali clarinet.

Normally one or two feet in length, the pungi is made of a bottle gourd or coconut that has been dried. It has two reeds or bamboo tubes, one for the melody and the other for the drone. The snake charmer has to master a special technique of circular breathing in order to play the melodies without pauses.

Scattered around are small vases, cups, bags, a large hookah pipe, staff and the cover of the basket from which the cobra rises. A smaller brown snake, probably carved from padouk wood, also seems to have escaped, and can be seen writhing towards one of the bags in a corner.

A small scorpion, its tail raised, faces the sapera as if it has been disturbed by the commotion. The eager stance of the snake charmer as he dances around the basket, his cheeks inflated as he blows on his instrument, and the fine detailing of his costume and folds of his turban and shawl, all brilliantly convey the vivid scene through the skill of the ivory carver.

This genre scene was of a type often destined for the European market through the East India trade. There was a great fascination with the detailed past-times and trades of the Indian subcontinent, and everyday scenes were depicted in both Company School paintings as well as carvings in wood and ivory, which were the three-dimensional equivalents. Like a photograph, this ivory carving captures a moment in time and presents with great verisimilitude a slice of daily life, providing an insight into a unique Indian profession at the height of its popularity.

The earliest snake charmers were probably traditional healers and as part of their training learned to treat snakebites. The performance usually begins with the snake charmer seated cross-legged on the ground in front of a closed pot or basket. Removing the lid, he begins to play on his pungi. As if

41

drawn by the tune, the snake eventually emerges and begins to sway to and fro in time with the melody, apparently hypnotised.

In reality, standing erect and extending its hood is the normal defensive mechanism of a cobra startled by the sudden loss of its darkened environment. The snake cannot in fact hear the tune being played and its swaying movement is a reaction to the movement of the instrument and vibrations from the charmer’s tapping feet. The haunting tunes are part of the performance that spectators would appreciate.

The snake is unlikely to strike as most serpents are timid by nature and prefer to scare off predators rather than fight them. The snake charmer is also skilled in reading the movements of the snake and can tell if a snake is ready to strike and move quickly beyond its reach.

Sometimes the charmer would kiss the snake, but this is not dangerous, as a cobra cannot attack things above from its lower position.

Most of India’s snake charmers come from the small northern village of Salenagar, about an hour’s drive from the ancient city of Lucknow.

The villagers have been in the business of snake charming ever since their ancestors migrated there from Bengal two centuries ago.

It is therefore not surprising that, soon after their move from Bengal, the snake charmers should be celebrated by this ivory model of their trade, made close by in Lucknow, which had become at the time a centre of ivory carving.

18 S I LV E R A N D B R A S S I N L A I D B I D R I T R AY

INDIA (DECCAN, BIDAR), 17TH CENTURY DIAMETER: 35.5 CM

A circular bidri tray (sini or thali) with a shallow rim, profusely inlaid with silver and brass, the elegant design of a central floral roundel within a double-lined border surrounded by further concentric bands of stylised rosettes and floral sprays on a ground of delicate scrolling foliate vines.

The thin cavetto has a continuous meander of further brass arabesque vines containing cusped silver eight-petalled rosettes. To the edge, the rim has a band of alternating brass and silver chevron motifs. The vines have been inlaid with tarkashi work, a process used for linear patterns, where the brass is beaten into fine wires, and inlaid within engraved outlines, the brass wires being fixed in the grooves by hammering them down.1

for the hookah base if it is round; and the tray or sini on which the hookah sits.2 It is also possible that many of the trays were not made to accompany hookahs but used on their own to serve food presented as a thali, a selection of different dishes in small amounts.3 Thali is the Hindi word for a small tray, while the meal composed in this manner is also called a thali.

According to the Akbarnama, which chronicles the reign of the great Mughal emperor Akbar, no less than five hundred dishes were considered essential to the daily meals at the royal table, beginning with sherbets to cleanse the palate, then a large variety of fish, fowl and meats, and vegetables tossed in spices. The meal finished with sweetmeats and fruit.4

References:

A late seventeenth century bidri dish, with repeated silver flowers within radiating cusped cartouches inlaid with brass, is illustrated in Jagdish Mittal, Bidri Ware and Damascene work in Jagdish & Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian Art, 2001, pp. 68-69, pl. 10.

1. Jagdish Mittal, Bidri Ware and Damascene work in Jagdish & Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian Art, 2001, p.16.

2. Mark Zebrowski, Gold, Silver & Bronze from Mughal India, 1997, p. 247.

3. Ibid.

4. Naveen Patnaik and Stuart Cary Welch, A Second Paradise: Indian Courtly Life: 1590-1947, 1985, quoted in Christiane

This bidri tray could possibly have been made to support a bidri hookah base as part of a matching set.

According to Mark Zebrowski, who illustrates a group of related bidri trays in Gold, Silver & Bronze from Mughal India, 1997, pp. 246-261, a “smoking set� would have included four main items: the chillum or fire-cup; the hookah base; a ring

Terlinden and Dimitri Demnard, Mughal Silver Magnificence (XVI-XIXth C.), 1987, p. 103, where Terlinden and Demnard illustrate three silver thalis with scalloped edges, nos. 132-134, that are clearly intended as serving dishes.

Literature: Susan Stronge, Bidri Ware: Inlaid Metalwork from India, 1985.

19 S I LV E R A N D B L A C K E N A M E L H O O K A H B A S E A N D T R AY

INDIA (DECCAN, PROBABLY HYDERABAD), LATE 18TH CENTURY HEIGHT OF HOOKAH: 26.5 CM DIAMETER OF HOOKAH: 26 CM DIAMETER OF HOOKAH TRAY: 50 CM

An unusually large silver enamelled bell-shaped hookah base with tray, chillum (fire-cup) and bowl, very finely decorated in black enamel with a design of stylised flowers, leaves and birds within borders and cartouches.

The body of the hookah base is divided into five oval cartouches, each filled with stylised floral sprays, leaves and small birds nesting in the foliage. Four of the five cartouche designs echo a tree-of-life motif. Framing these above and below are thin horizontal geometric borders alternating with wider borders of scrolling floral meanders and arabesques. The tapered mouth of the hookah base is decorated with five small cartouches containing further stylised floral

sprays. Below a projecting domed collar with a frieze of pendant flowers on a vine, the constricted neck is decorated with a ring of chevrons. To the bottom of the base is an inscription in Arabic script with the name Abida Begum within a rectangular cartouche.

The hookah fits comfortably into the large tray below, which continues the flaring shape of the vessel. Its pattern follows that of the base, and is divided into seventeen further tree-of-life oval cartouches contained within thin horizontal geometric borders. The tray has a

large composite six-petalled black enamelled flower in the centre, a secret only revealed when the hookah is removed. The accompanying chillum and bowl have a similar design of stylised flowers and small birds.

Hookahs were a favourite item for the enameller’s art and this is one of the finest known examples to have survived and what makes it even more desirable is that it is a complete hookah base with tray and chillum.

The extended flare of the base, which continues suavely into the tray, suggests a date of production towards the end of the eighteenth century when the flare of bell-shaped hookahs started to become exaggerated.

The style of the piece also mirrors bidri ware from Bidar in the Deccan, a popular medium for the production of hookahs.

Indeed at first glance the hookah set may be mistaken for bidri ware and only upon closer inspection reveals itself as enamel in the relatively rare palette of black enamel on silver.

20 GAJA-SIMHA CANDLESTICK

Surmounting the fabulous beasts is the candle-holder, taking the form of an open flower-head to catch the melting wax, and a cylindrical sleeve for the candle chased with overlapping scales. The whole assemblage has a remarkable dynamism.

SOUTHERN INDIA (MYSORE OR TAMIL NADU), 19TH CENTURY HEIGHT: 22.5 CM WIDTH: 8.4 CM DEPTH: 7 CM

A mythical yali combining a lion’s body with an elephant’s trunk is known as a gaja-simha while the motif of a lion standing on an elephant is also known by the same name. This candlestick powerfully combines the two related senses.

A cast and chased bronze candlestick composed of a rampant mythical horned lion or yali with an elephant’s trunk (gaja-simha) trampling on a small elephant standing on a four-legged platform.

The yali has an S-shaped tail and small wings etched on its thighs and shoulders. It holds its long curling trunk between its front paws; the end of the trunk is entwined with the raised trunk of the subservient elephant below. The weight and might of the yali has brought the elephant to its knees.

Winged lions standing on the backs of elephants are often seen as throne supports. The elephant-lion ensemble seems to visualise the wisdom and the power of the elephant combined with the supreme solar energy and royal prerogative of the lion.

46

21 GOLD AND ENAMELLED DIAMOND-SET SARPECH

INDIA (BENARES), CIRCA 1850 HEIGHT: 11 CM WIDTH: 15 CM

A gold, enamelled and gem-set sarpech (turban ornament) set with diamonds to the front, with twelve drilled pendant emeralds suspended from the top and bottom. The reverse is finely enamelled with pink lotus flowers.

This triple sarpech has three beautiful jighas (jewelled aigrettes or plumes) that are joined together by hinges and flanked on each side by two additional jewelled panels to form an integral five-panelled sarpati below. The three aigrettes are also hinged to the sections below to allow a small amount of pliability and movement. Dangling from the curved tip of each jigha is a pendant emerald. Silk cords extend from the sarpati segments by which the sarpech would have been fastened onto a turban.

The central jigha is the tallest. The design of the base consists of a pierced composite rosette with a central diamond set in an octagonal collet, from which radiate diamond petals and leaves on curling stems.

Surmounting the rosette is the jewelled aigrette, set with a central tier of diamonds within rectangular collets in cypress tree formation, framed by diamond leaves on gold stems with green enamelling on the edges. A polished and drilled emerald dangles from the curling

tip, fastened by a green glass bead.

The tip of the jigha curves to the left.

Jewels, 2000, p. 67, only the Mughal emperor, his intimate relations and select members of his entourage were permitted to wear a royal turban ornament.1 Different types of ornament acquired the generic name of sarpech, a term derived from sar, meaning head, and pech meaning fastener.2

To either side of the central jigha is a smaller jigha of similar design.

The three jighas are joined by hinges on the reverse. The flanking jighas curve to the left and right respectively and smaller emeralds similarly dangle from the tips.

The sarpati panels on the ends are composed of a horizontal frieze of diamonds in octagonal, hexagonal and leaf-shaped collets, from which radiate leaves and petals on curling gold stems.

During Akbar’s time, the principal turban ornament was the kalgi, a simple gold or jewelled stem into which a heron feather was inserted.3 During Jahangir’s reign, gems were clustered at the base of the plume and a pendant pearl encouraged a droop from the plume itself. It was during the reign of Shah Jahan that an ornate jewelled brooch appeared to take the place of the feather, in which a stylised “plume” as well as the stem were composed of gems set in gold with the reverse in polychrome enamels.4 This solid plume retained the droop of Jahangir’s feather kalgi and was adorned by one or more pendant stones. In this form the turban ornament is known as a jigha, though it is important to note that like the present example, most jighas retain a stem or tana for the insertion of the original feathered plume. In the most elaborate form of the sarpech, the jigha acquired a wide jewelled base of three to five or up to seven jewelled panels called a sarpati, which was secured to the base of the turban with silk cords.

The reverse of the sarpech is enamelled in pink and white enamels with touches of green to depict lotus flowers and leaves. The seven hinges are also enamelled in green.

The pink lotus flowers are depicted in bud and bloom and shown in different sizes as they unfurl within the variegated segments. Attached to the plume of the central jigha is a gold tana or conical stem, into which a heron feather would have been inserted. The tana is incised with fine details of veins to the petals and leaves.

Sarpechs normally have a single jigha so this triple sarpech is a particularly elaborate example, although sarpechs with five or even seven jighas are known.

According to Katherine Prior and John Adamson, who illustrate a jigha said to have once belonged to Robert, 1st Lord of Clive, “Clive of India”, in their book Maharajas’

ceremonially presented to family and courtiers in recognition of services rendered. The presentation of the kalgi signified royal approval.5 This practice continued in the courts of northern India and Rajasthan with the maharajas, nawabs and provincial rulers.

For example, jighas of the type owned by Clive were the height of fashion at the court of Murshidabad.

In the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is a jigha presented to Admiral Charles Watson on 26th ˛ July 1757 by Mir Ja‘far Ali Khan, successor to Suraj-ud-Daula as the Nawab of Bengal. This was in recognition of the part that Watson and Clive had played in quelling Suraj-ud-Daula. The Watson jigha is illustrated in Susan Stronge, Nima Smith and J. C. Harle, A Golden Treasury: Jewellery from the Indian Subcontinent, 1988, pp. 51-52, no. 37.

The present sarpech comes in its original leather and velvet-lined fitted case. A piece of old newspaper was used to line the inside of the lid of the case. The newspaper is a sheet from The Gazette of India, August 6, 1887.

References: 1. Katherine Prior and John Adamson, Maharajas’ Jewels, 2000, pp. 38-39.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

The kalgi is a crest of honour, the ultimate symbol of royalty or royal favour, worn by the emperor or

48

5. Usha R. Bala Krishnan and Meera Sushil Kumar, Dance of the Peacock: Jewellery Traditions of India, 1999, p. 217.

22 N AVA R AT N A B A Z U B A N D S

INDIA (JAIPUR), CIRCA 1850 LENGTH: 10.5 CM EACH WIDTH: 1 CM EACH

A pair of gold and enamelled gem-set navaratna bazubands, each bazuband comprising nine cut and polished gemstones set in square gold collets in the kundan technique. The nine navaratna gemstones (maharatnani) on these bazubands are hyacinth, coral, pearl, diamond, ruby, blue sapphire, emerald, topaz and cat’s eye. The stones are of equal size but presented in a variety of cuts: cabochon, flat-cut and faceted. At the end of each bazuband is a diamond set in a leaf-shaped finial, from which extend the silk cords, toggles and loops for fastening the bazubands.

The reverse of each bazuband is finely enamelled in each segment with a red quatrefoil flower against a white ground. Four cusped red petals radiate from a red circle at the centre, with green enamels enlivening the corner spandrels. The leaf shaped finials are enamelled with red trefoil flowers or leaves, and the edges finished with green enamel.

Combined in a traditional manner in a single ornament, the arrangement of gemstones seen here is called the navaratna. Each stone is associated with a Hindu deity, with the arrangement of gemstones being symbolic of the nine celestial deities

or navagrahas. In this form they constitute a powerful amulet that polarises all space in relation to the Sun, the giver of life, and man in relation to the Universe. In doing so, the navaratna jewels become a manifestation of the Divine plane for every living creature.1 Tradition dictates that the gemstones should all be of the same size, so that equal importance is given to each deity, although sometimes the ruby, symbolising the Sun, is the largest.2 The stones also have to be flawless, as only then do they have auspicious powers that can protect one from all manner of dangers.

Flawed stones have the opposite effect.

For a detailed discussion of the naravarata gemstones, see Oppi Untracht’s chapter, “Nava-ratna: A Celestial Palladium”, in his book, Traditional Jewelry of India, 1997, pp. 304-311. On p. 305, Untracht lists the nine celestial deities as follows: the Sun (Surya); Moon (Candra); Mercury (Budha); Venus (Shukra); Saturn (Shani); Mars (Mangala); Jupiter (Brhaspati); Ascending Node or Dragon’s Head (Rahu); and the Descending Node or Dragon’s Tail (Ketu). On p. 306, Untracht provides a chart that details the attributes, powers, vehicles, colours and corresponding metals, elements, grains and plants of each deity.

myth that appears in its fullest form in Buddhabhatta’s Ratanpariksa, an ancient scientific treatise on the testing of gemstones dating to the fourth century. The demon Bala (or Vala) went to heaven with the intention of conquering Indra, but the gods persuaded him to become instead their meritorious sacrifice.

They slaughtered and dismembered him, each grabbing a part of his body, which was immediately transmuted into various precious gemstones.3 From Bala’s blood came ruby; from his teeth, pearl; his bile, emerald; his bones, diamond; his eyes, sapphire; his flesh, coral; his skin, topaz; marrow, chrysoberyl; body fluid, beryl; fingernails, cat’s eye; fat, rock crystal; and semen, bhisma, an unspecified stone.4 As the gods were nine in number, this particular gemstone group became the nine celestial gemstones.

Assembled as a navaratna group, they create an amulet of great defensive and remedial advantage.

The gemstones possess exceptional magic power by providing a sympathetic medium for the transmission of stored energy from the planets, which then cast their cosmic influence on the wearer.5

References: 1. Oppi Untracht, Traditional Jewelry of India, 1997, p. 304.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid., p. 307.

Untracht also relates the origins of the gemstones as described in the

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

23 A N U S H I R VA N S TA G E S A M O C K B AT T L E F O R T H E C H I N E S E E N V O Y S

IRAN (SHIRAZ), CIRCA 1560 FOLIO: HEIGHT: 42.8 CM WIDTH: 28.5 CM MINIATURE: HEIGHT: 30 CM WIDTH: 21.3 CM TEXT AREA ON THE REVERSE: HEIGHT: 25.2 CM WIDTH: 14.8 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold and silver on paper.

An illustration from a Shahnama of Firdausi.

The text of the Shahnama is written in black ink on cream paper, in ˛ four columns of fine nasta liq with interlinear and intercolumnar illumination framed by narrow gold bands, dark blue, red and orange margins, and fine black rules. On the illustrated page, the text is written in uncoloured clouds reserved against a gold ground decorated with polychrome flower-heads and scrolls. The columns are separated by vertical blue bands with trefoil flowers on sinuous tendrils. The margins are illuminated in gold with birds and animals amidst trees, flowers and leaves. On the verso are twenty-five lines of text in four columns, with intercolumnar bands in blue and gold decorated with floral scrolls.

This painting illustrates a scene from the reign of the Sasanian king Kisra Anushirvan.

Anushirvan has been warned of the territorial ambitions of the Emperor of China and prepares a massive army to confront him. A wise man, however, counsels the Emperor instead to sue for peace.

The Emperor follows his advice and sends ambassadors to express his admiration for Anushirvan and his wish for friendship with him. The envoys’ message is well received, and before sending them back with a letter agreeing to the Emperor’s proposal, Anushirvan arranges a magnificent mock-battle in which he himself outshines all the other participants in skill. Ambassadors from all over the world are invited, who amazed at the scene, prepare reports of the Shah’s greatness to take home. In a later stage of the diplomatic proceedings, Anushirvan marries one of the daughters of the Chinese Khan.1 The mock battle arranged by Anushirvan is only rarely illustrated in copies of the Shahnama. At the centre of the painting, Anushirvan rides his steed holding a spear and a shield. The group of Chinese envoys watch the spectacle from the left of the picture. A young man has climbed a tree to watch the battle from above.

Anushirvan, the son of Kay Qubad, is the Sasanian king celebrated for his battles with the Romans, his love of science and knowledge, and his discourses with men of learning.

Almost as famous as the king himself is his vizier, Buzurgmehr.

It is during Anushirvan’s reign that the game of chess is introduced to Persia from India and Buzurgmehr invents the game of backgammon.

Anushirvan is also responsible for bringing the book Kalila wa Dimna from India to Iran.2

(Antioch) and receives tribute from Caesar. To keep out attacks, he builds a wall between Iran and central Asia.

This magnificent scene comes from a Shahnama manuscript, matched in quality, size and grandeur by only a handful of Shiraz manuscripts from the same period. This Shahnama represents Shiraz painting at its apogee during the second half of the sixteenth century when the best Shiraz painting outstripped manuscript production in the troubled imperial centre.

Five illustrated leaves from this important manuscript, including half of the frontispiece, are to be found in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University, Norma Jean Calderwood Collection (accession nos. 2002.50.34-38). Six leaves are in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Another leaf, depicting “Rustam kicking a boulder hurled down the mountain by Bahman” is in the British Museum, London. A leaf depicting “The Court of Gayumarth” is in the David Collection, Copenhagen.

Provenance: Spink and Son, London Private Japanese Collection

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Will Kwiatkowski for his expert advice and his interpretation of the text and scene illustrated in this painting.

References: 1. For a translation of the episode, see Arthur George & Edmond Warner, The Shahnama of

Anusrhivan begins his reign by the reorganisation of the realm into four provinces, the reduction of taxes, the subsidy of agriculture and the reform of the justice system. He also defeats the forces of Rum in battle, takes the great city of Antakiya

Firdausi, vol. VII, London, 1915, pp. 337-342.

2. The story of Anushirvan’s reign is given in B. W. Robinson, The Persian Book of Kings: An Epitome of The Shahnama of Firdawsi, 2002, pp. 119-127; and the new Penguin Classics translation by Dick Davis (trans.), Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings, 2007, pp. 679-716.

24 T H E C O U R T O F G AY U M A R T H

IRAN (SHIRAZ), CIRCA 1570 FOLIO: HEIGHT: 44 CM WIDTH: 29 CM IMAGE: HEIGHT: 32 CM WIDTH: 22 CM CALLIGRAPHY ON REVERSE: HEIGHT: 26 CM WIDTH: 14.6 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold and silver on paper.

An illustration from a Shahnama of Firdausi. ˛ The text is written in nasta liq in four columns on the painting and on the verso.

This charming painting depicts the Court of Gayumarth, the first king of the Pishdadian Dynasty and the first of all the kings in the Shahnama.

Gayumarth dwells on a mountain surrounded by his courtiers, all clad in leopard and tiger skins.

It is Gayumarth who first establishes the ceremonies associated with the crown and the throne. Here his throne is simply a magnificent rock from which flows a stream that bifurcates as it approaches the foreground of the picture. The stream is symbolic of Gayumarth as the source of wisdom and the spread of his knowledge, justice and leadership throughout the land.

Gayumarth is shown receiving his citizens who seek his counsel and bow down before him.

Gayumarth rules for thirty years. His people live in peace and tranquillity and on friendly terms with all the animals both wild and tame that reverently pay homage to him, their obedience increasing his glory and good fortune.1 It is Gayumarth that

first teaches men about the preparation of food and the use of clothing, which are new to the world at the time, so he is the father of civilisation and society.2 Gayumarth has no enemies except Ahriman, the Evil Principle, who sends his son, the Black Div, to invade Iran at the head of a vast demon host. Gayumarth has a handsome son named Siyamak who prepares an army to fight the demon hordes. In that time there is no armour and Siyamak strides forward bravely to attack, dressed for war only in a leopard skin. The Black Div, ferocious as a savage wolf, sinks his claws into the prince’s unprotected body and slays Siyamak in single combat.3 Gayumarth is devastated; unconsolable, king and nation go into mourning for a year.

It is Siyamak’s son and Gayumarth’s grandson, Hushang, who avenges Siyamak’s death. Gayumarth assembles an army that includes a squadron of angels and fairies, and a troop of leopards, lions, tigers, wolves, birds and domestic animals.

The king’s fury and the magnificence of the wild animals renders the demons’ claws harmless.4 When the two armies meet, the demons are defeated by the animals. The Black Div is killed by Hushang in single combat. He catches the powerful black demon in his grip, cleaving his body in two and severing his monstrous head.5 These titanic battles are in effect the very first wars in history.

“You will not find another who has known The might of Kayumars and his great throne.

The world was his while he remained alive, He showed men how to prosper and to thrive: But all this world is like a tale we hear-Men’s evil, and their glory, disappear.”6

It is during the reign of Hushang that mankind takes another great step towards civilisation, the discovery of fire.

The idyllic scene of Gayumarth and its appearance at the very beginning of the narrative make it one of the favourite illustrations in copies of the Shahnama. The most celebrated and greatest painting of the Court of Gayumarth is that of the Shahnama of Shah Tamasp, or the Houghton Shahnama. This is illustrated in Stuart Cary Welch, Wonders of the Age: Masterpieces of Early Safavid Painting, 1501-1576, 1979, pp. 17, 50 and 51, cat. no. 8. This is by the master Safavid artist Sultan Muhammad.

References: 1. The story of Gayumarth’s reign given here is compiled from B. W. Robinson, The Persian Book of Kings: An Epitome of The Shahnama of Firdawsi, 2002, pp. 11-12; and the new Penguin Classics translation by Dick Davis (trans.), Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings, 2007, pp. 1-3.

2. Ibid.

When Gayumarth has achieved his desired vengeance, he dies leaving the kingdom to his grandson, and the world is deprived of his glory:

55

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

25 BARZIN KILLING A DRAGON

IRAN (SHIRAZ), CIRCA 1560 FOLIO: HEIGHT: 39.8 CM WIDTH: 33 CM MINIATURE: HEIGHT: 22.9 CM WIDTH: 19.9 CM

This episode in this painting takes place in the third chapter of the Bahmannameh, in which Bahman pursues the family of Rustam in Kashmir. The Bahmannameh is an epic poem by the early twelfth century poet Iranshah ibn Abi’l-Khayr, which recounts the adventures of the eponymous hero Bahman.1

of the Bahmannameh where Azar Barzin rescues Bahman from a dragon.2

Azar Barzin and his companions are crossing a desert when a frightful cloud-like apparition comes rolling down from the mountain top before disappearing again. They are all too afraid to pursue the apparition, apart from Azar Barzin. In a defile he comes across a fearsome dragon, which he shoots with an arrow. This is the dragon depicted in the present painting. Azar Barzin thunders towards the dragon on his steed, aiming an arrow directly into the dragon’s open mouth. Flames leap from the body of the fearsome beast as it turns to confront its nemesis.

1. Several stories from the Bahmannameh are

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Will Kwiatkowski for his expert advice and kind identification of the scene.

References:

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

An illustration to a Bahmannameh series. ˛ The story is told in nasta liq in four columns to the top and bottom of the miniature and on the reverse, and continues in several attached pages of calligraphy.

Bahman was the son of Esfandiyar, who was killed at the hands of the hero Rustam. After the death of Rustam, Bahman sought revenge for his father’s death by killing Rustam’s son Faramarz, imprisoning his father Zal in a cage, and pursuing his daughters Banu, Goshasp and Zarbanu in Kashmir. There Bahman also fights Azar Barzin, son of Faramarz and grandson of Rustam, whom he captures and sends to Sari in northern Iran.

Azar Barzin is freed however, by the hero Rustam-e Tur, and together they set out to fight Bahman. After a series of battles, the two sides conclude peace.

incorporated into interpolated versions of the Shahnama.

2. See Rührdanz, 1997, fig. 3. There are several variant endings to the Bahmannameh as well as different versions of the life of Bahman and the story of Barzin killing the dragon as it appears in interpolated manuscripts of the Shahnama. In one version of the story, Barzin does not kill Bahman but watches Bahman being swallowed by a dragon and refuses to respond to his call for help. Barzin leaves after seeing the dragon crawl away. A miniature from an interpolated manuscript of the Shah Nameh, depicting an alternative conclusion in which Bahman is swallowed by a dragon and both Bahman and the dragon are

Karin Rührdanz has noted in the article, “About a Group of Truncated Shãhnamas: A Case Study in the Commercial Production of Illustrated Manuscripts in the Second Part of the Sixteenth Century,” Muqarnas 14, 1997, p. 124, that this section of the Bahmannameh is normally not illustrated, making this painting highly unusual.

Will Kwiatkowski has observed that no other painting of this scene appears to have been published and therefore the present depiction is probably unique.

The event depicted should not be confused with the better-known episode from the end

killed by Barzin, is illustrated in the Spink catalogue, Gopis, Goddesses & Demons, 2000, pp. 108-109, cat. no. 64.

Neither of the two stories of Barzin killing a dragon appear in the Shahnama, where after a series of battles Bahman and Barzin make peace.

26 T W O R O YA L H U N T I N G S C E N E S

INDIA (MUGHAL), CIRCA 1590 FOLIO: HEIGHT: 46.5 CM WIDTH: 32.5 CM MINIATURE ON RECTO: HEIGHT: 30.5 CM WIDTH: 21 CM MINIATURE ON VERSO: HEIGHT: 25.7 CM WIDTH: 15.3 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

This double-sided album page depicts hunting scenes on each side.

The main figure on horseback with a wispy white beard on the recto holding a falcon on his gloved hand may be identified as Bayram Khan, Akbar’s general and imperial regent.

He is accompanied by two courtiers on horseback, four men on foot carrying flags and axes, and a white hunting dog with a red collar.

The hunters travel through a rocky landscape full of pink rock formations dotted with trees and shrubs. In the background is a pond with water lilies and ducks.

The main beardless figure holding a falcon on the verso can be identified as the Emperor Akbar himself. His horse is richly caparisoned to illustrate his position of imperial importance. Akbar is seated on a magnificent gold saddle with arabesques; the horse is adorned with pearls and a feathered headpiece. He is accompanied by a retinue of three courtiers on horseback and nine attendants on foot. The setting is a green landscape bordered by rocky outcrops.

The style of these miniatures is very close to folios from an unidentified manuscript of religious history dating to circa 1590, now in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art

(mss. 637 and mss. 569). These are illustrated in Linda York Leach, Paintings from India, 1998, pp. 32-35, nos. 6 and 7. This manuscript and our album page have similar depictions of rounded rocks set in a landscape as well as tall figures with round turbans. The miniatures may have been produced in the same workshop during Akbar’s reign.

Though the paintings on the recto and verso differ in size, they are similar in style and composition.

Other double-sided pages from this manuscript also have paintings of different sizes on each side, suggesting that this was a characteristic of the

manuscript. In the present folio, both sides depict hunting scenes with imposing central figures. It can be inferred that the bearded figure on the recto is presented as someone of similar stature to the Emperor, most probably the pre-eminent imperial regent Bayram Khan. He would have been the only figure who could be presented in a comparable light to that of the Emperor.

There are few representations of Bayram Khan. An image of him is in the Akbarnama dating to circa 1604 in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. (inv. 52.33), which records the submission of Bayram

Khan to Akbar shortly before he was dismissed from service. This is illustrated in Milo Cleveland Beach, The Imperial Image: Paintings for the Mughal Court, 1981, pp. 104-105, cat. no.12b. Bayram Khan was later assassinated on his way to perform ˛ the Hajj. His son, Abd al-Rahim was brought up in Akbar’s court.

He became an important minister at Akbar’s court and also a great bibliophile, employing many illuminators and painters. It is possible that the miniatures in this folio were produced by artists ˛ in the service of Abd al-Rahim Khankhanan to commemorate the image of the patron’s father.

27 A PRINCE RETURNS

INDIA (MUGHAL), CIRCA 1590 FOLIO HEIGHT: 34.2 CM WIDTH: 24.3 CM MINIATURE HEIGHT: 30 CM WIDTH: 20 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

A prince riding a magnificent blue speckled horse and wearing a brown tunic with a gold turban and patka (sash) approaches a palace upon his return from a hunting expedition.

An attendant rides behind holding aloft a red and green chhatri (honorific umbrella or canopy), part of the royal regalia of the prince but also shading him from the heat of the sun. Four other figures on horseback follow behind, with quivers full of arrows tied to their patkas. An attendant on foot carries the prince’s guns wrapped up in a ceremonial cloth.

Preceding the prince are two hunters wearing shorts and laced sandals.

These are probably messengers or scouts, able to move swiftly through different terrain, whether hill, forest or scrub, on the trail of animals.

One of these hunters carries a small axe used for clearing bushes.

The royal party is greeted by courtiers assembled outside the palace walls. A standing figure wearing a yellow tunic and holding a staff stands at the arched doorway to the palace compound. His position at the entrance of the palace and his grand demeanour

suggest that he may be a minister.

Within the palace six women can be seen preparing for the arrival, bringing forth golden ewers and trays to a seated bejewelled figure wearing the sharp-pointed skirt and pompoms seen in early Rajput painting. She may be the mother of the prince and a Hindu queen wearing a slightly earlier indigenous fashion when compared with the Akbari costume of the other figures.

The crenellated brick walls of the palace are surrounded by a flowing moat fed from a circular fountain connected to a deep well under a tree, from which a figure wearing only a dhoti and a turban draws water using lotas raised and lowered by rope. Next to him a woman sits in front of a cubist tumble of houses in the charming El Grecoesque village sprawled outside the palace walls, spinning cotton and cooking food in a covered pot placed on a portable burning stove with leaping flames.

A similar scene of villagers going about their daily activities can be seen in a Baburnama painting of circa 1590, depicting Babur admiring rock-cut

Hindu sculptures at the base of the fortress of Urwa near Gwalior, which he visited in 1528. Though the large royal entourage has arrived with a courtier similarly bearing a standard over Babur’s head and another carrying his guns rolled up in a textile, to the foreground men continue to calmly draw water from wells to irrigate the fields. A pair of bullocks approach a trough to drink before ploughing the adjacent fields and a family of ragged goats huddles contentedly at the base of craggy rocks, oblivious to the splendour of the emperor.

This painting is now in the British Museum in London and is illustrated in J. M. Rogers, Mughal Miniatures, 1993, p. 51, fig. 26.

28 T H E B AT T L E O F B H I M A A N D D U R Y O D H A N A

INDIA (MUGHAL), 1616-1617

BY KAMAL HEIGHT: 26.5 CM WIDTH: 22 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold and silver on paper.

A page from a manuscript of the Razmnama (the Book of Wars), the Persian translation of the Mahabharata.

Inscribed on the reverse in Persian with the story in a text panel to the right, flanked by a painting of a prince on an elephant on the left.

This dramatic and lively battle ˛ scene is a page from Abd al-Rahim Khankhanan’s Razmnama, translated into Persian from the Sanskrit ˛ Mahabharata. Abd al-Rahim was the commander-in-chief of the Mughal armies and a great patron of the arts, maintaining a celebrated library and painting atelier. There is a sufficient remnant of the artist’s name at the bottom for us to read ˛ amal-i kamal, or “the work of Kamal”, who was one of the artists who worked on the project.

The Mahabharata is a very long text with many battles and adventures so it is difficult to ascertain the exact battle illustrated in this painting.

However, the text on the reverse indicates that at least two of the Pandava brothers, Bhima and Arjuna, and two Kauravas, Duryodhana and Karna, take part in the battle. The Kauravas are cousins of the Pandavas and their great enemies and rivals.

According to John Seyller who kindly read the text on the reverse, much of the text centres on Duryodhana, the eldest of the one hundred sons of the Kaurava king. His name is

transliterated strangely in Persian but in Sanskrit means “tough fighter”, a quality appropriately demonstrated by this battle scene. As customary among princes, he is trained in the martial arts, his favourite weapon being the club.1 In his youth he develops a bitter rivalry with his cousin and arch-enemy Bhima ,who is also a master of the club, and on one occasion tries to poison him and drown him in the Ganges; Bhima is however bitten by nagas, whose poison neutralises that of Duryodhana, so he recovers.2 Bhima is the second of the Pandava princes. Huge, coarse, violent and prodigiously greedy, he plays a conspicuous role in the Mahabharata, having many exciting adventures including fights with the asuras.3 In this painting, Duryodhana is spoiling for a fight with Bhima.

What follows is a devastating battle in which the Pandava hero kills off many elephants ridden by the Kaurava army. The text specifies the decimation of fifty-one elephants. Bhima is the figure in the middle left with the big mace or club.

Karna, another Kaurava, weighs in verbally, but mostly it is Duryodhana who leads the fighting in this scene, riding his named elephant. The Persian text has the name of the elephant as Banan, but there is no such name or anything similar mentioned in the Sanskrit text. We can assume that it is Duryodhana who rides the elephant on the narrow painting on the reverse. Seyller attributes this painting to the artist Fazl.

The addition of the strip at the bottom of the painting, with a serene and

contrasting scene of a man washing or fishing in a stream, was intended to replace the text panel that was excised by a dealer, probably in the early twentieth century.

The Razmnana is discussed by John Seyller in Workshop and Patron in Mugal India: The Freer Ramayana and ˛ Other Illustrated Manuscripts of Abd al-Rahim, 1999, pp. 252- 270.

Like the famous Ramayana of ‘Abd al-Rahim in the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington D. C., this Razmnama manuscript was inspired by an imperial Mughal manuscript, the Persian Razmnama translation of the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. It can be securely dated by dates within the painting fields of two miniatures, one by ‘Abdullah written AH 1025/1616 AD and the other, ascribed to Musfiq, dated AH 1026/1617 AD.

of Art; and the San Diego Museum of Art. Paintings by Kamal from this manuscript are in London, Los Angeles and San Diego.

Sellyer illustrates six Razmnama paintings on pp. 253-257, figs.

163-168. Fig. 166 on p. 255, by Fazl, is of especial interest to us as it illustrates Bhima defeating Duryodhana in a battle of maces.

The two antagonists are large burly figures with remarkably thick-set thighs. The rivals are both armed with huge clubs. Bhima stands brandishing his mace over the fallen Duryodhana, while Duryodhana’s club has fallen to the ground. This painting is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, (Rogers Fund, 55.121.32a).

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank John Seyller for his expert advice on this painting.

Other pages of this dispersed Razmnama are in museums and private collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the British Museum, London; the Los Angeles County Museum

References: 1. Anna L. Dallapiccola, Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend, 2002, p. 67.

2. Ibid., pp. 39 and 40.

3. Ibid., pp. 39 and 67.

29 A K A N P H ATA Y O G I WA L K I N G W I T H H I S A C O LY T E A N D A D O G INDIA (MUGHAL), EARLY 17TH CENTURY HEIGHT: 15.2 CM WIDTH: 7.8 CM

Brush and ink drawing on paper, mounted on an album page with gold decorated borders.

The Kanphata yogi is dressed very scantily in bands of cloth, with wide earrings and block sandals, his head mostly shaved to leave a top knot.

He carries an alms bowl and a pilgrim flask, suspended over his left arm by a loop and fastened by wire.

His companion is dressed more fully with a hat and coat, holding a large fan over his shoulder and carrying a bowl and bag. The head of the yogi is drawn with exceptional sensitivity and finely shaded to define his features, his expression one of meditative intensity. Of particular beauty are the vertebrae of his spine which protrude through the skin of his back and neck, the bones imparting an ascetic air to the mendicant.

The Kanphata or split-ear yogis are Shaivite ascetics of the Nath sect who are followers of Gorakh Nath.

Kan means “ear” and phata means “split”. They are distinguished by their large flat earrings that give them their extended earlobes and the sect its name. These earrings are usually made of antelope horn, oyster shell, metal or rhino skin.

Kanphata yogis may have been a common sight in northern India in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, for they were depicted repeatedly by Mughal draughtsmen.

The Kanphata yogis are sometimes referred to as tantric (esoteric) sannyasins (ascetics), because of their emphasis on the acquiring of supernatural powers in contrast to more orthodox practices of devotion and meditation.1 The ideology of the Kanphata yogis incorporates elements of mysticism, magic, and alchemy absorbed from both Hindu Shaivite and Buddhist esoteric systems, as well as from Haṭha Yoga.2

In the Buddhist tradition, Gorakh Nath is revered as one of the eighty-four Mahasiddhas or great tantric masters of India.3

Provenance: The Carter Burden Collection, New York Sotheby’s, New York, 1991

Published:

For Mughal paintings and drawings of Kanphata yogis in the India Office at the British Library, London, see Toby Falk and Mildred Archer, Indian Miniatures in the India Office Library, 1981, p. 56, nos. 25 and 26; p. 63, no, 45; p. 84, no. 81; and p. 113, no. 184.

Sotheby’s, The Carter Burden Collection of Indian Paintings, New York, 27th March 1991, lot 89.

References: 1. www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/ 311271/Kanphata-Yogi 2. Ibid.

A detailed exploration of the beliefs and activities of the cults devoted to the lineage of Gorakh Nath is provided

by George Weston Briggs, Gorakhnath and the Kanphata Yogis, 2009.

30 L I O N AT TA C K I N G A B U L L

INDIA (RAJASTHAN), 18TH CENTURY

The eye of the bull is shaded to suggest the socket, lid and surrounding folds of skin, drawn exactly as the artist would have seen in the cows and bulls encountered in rural India and depicted in countless Indian miniatures and drawings. The startled and enlarged pupil of a terrified animal being attacked is recorded with alacrity.

HEIGHT: 14 CM WIDTH: 13.3 CM

Ink on paper.

This vigorous drawing depicts a lion attacking a bull. The lion has a stylised mane with fur radiating like overlapping leaves and a tuft of hair on its forehead worn like a crown for the king of beasts. The tail of the lion is striped like that of a tiger.1 A boteh-shaped lock of hair from the lion’s mane hangs pendant from its ear, to be framed by the rising arc of the bull’s horns. As the lion bites the turning neck of the bull, the two heads of the fighting animals form an interlocking and abstracted pattern of great elegance.

The eye of the lion is depicted less naturalistically, with a crescent brow that is almost a perfect semi-circle and a sinuously extended tear-duct of curling S-shape. The stylisation of the lion is very subtle but it imparts to the beast a mythical quality. The attack on the bull by such a fabulous lion suggests that the realm of the everyday is being invaded by the mythical realm.

Though the subject matter of fighting animals is associated with Kotah paintings and drawings, the steady line of the drawing and the abstracted forms do not suggest the Kotah school, where the line is wiry, nervous and ever changing. Sarwar may be a possible provenance for this unusual Rajasthani drawing, but we have insufficient evidence for a firm attribution.

Volume is imparted by careful shading to the contours of the limbs and the dark crevices of the animals’ ears. The surrounding landscape is hinted at by tufts of grass. Tightly coiled into the square sheet of paper, the two animals in combat generate a radiant energy that combines centrifugal and centripetal force.

The folds on the neck of the bull are beautifully delineated and like the claws of the lion, its spectacular mane or the tattooed flower-form on the lion’s cheek display an interest in pattern making and visual rhythms that balance observed nature with a powerful artifice. The contrasting treatment of the eyes of the two beasts demonstrates this technique to great effect.

Reference: 1. The Indian word shir can mean either lion or tiger, and has often been mistranslated in works like Jahangir’s Memoirs. This single name for the two ferocious animals may have found a corresponding visual image that expresses the nature of large and powerful felines.

66

31 THE ANGELS SERVING THE SUFI SAINT IBRAHIM ADHAM OF BALKH

INDIA (LUCKNOW ), CIRCA 1780 HEIGHT: 22.1 CM WIDTH: 15.2 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

Ibrahim Adham of Balkh is attended by four winged angels who bring him food and drink. The saint is seated on a rock beneath a tree with a radiant halo about his head. On the right is a steep cliff that provides seclusion for the mystic in deep meditation. The four splendidly dressed angels approach him on foot. Two other angels bearing gifts appear in the coloured clouds of the dramatic evening sky above, streaked with the vermilion light of the setting sun. The idyllic picture is completed by birds and waterfowl playing happily in the stream to the foreground.

The scene depicted is from the famous story of Sultan Hadrat Ibrahim bin Adham of Balkh, a ninth century king who surrendered his kingship for the life of a dervish and is visited by angels. This was a subject very popular in eighteenth century Mughal painting and another depiction of the scene from Awadh dating to circa 1770-1780 is in the India Office Library, Johnson Album 6, no. 5.1 European prints and paintings have obviously influenced the painter of this miniature. The angels in the sky, and the way the angels approaching Ibrahim are ranged in a line, recall European nativity scenes.

According to the legend, before he turned into a dervish, Ibrahim was a very wealthy king. One night he is woken at midnight by strangers searching for their lost camel on his roof. When he asks how they would expect to find a camel on the roof, the mystical reply is “Just as you hope to find God while dwelling in a kingly palace and dressed in kingly

attire”. Ibrahim is immediately possessed by the fear of God.2 The second sign of God to come before Ibrahim is a visit to his palace by another stranger, looking for a place to “lodge in this caravanserai”.

When Ibrahim prays to God to tell him the identity of this mysterious stranger, he learns that it is none other than Khidr, and the fear of God strikes him once again.3 Finally, one day while out hunting in pursuit of a beautiful deer, just as he is about to shoot the deer with his arrow, the deer turns to him and speaking in a human voice says, “I have come to hunt you, not to be hunted by you. You cannot kill me.

Have you ever pondered if the Lord has created you for this recreation in which you are indulging?” Upon hearing this miraculous message from God, Ibrahim leaves his palace, gives up all worldly possessions and power and dons the “divine princely garments of poverty”. He stays in the forest for nine years.4

versions of this well known Mughal subject are linked by their dependence on European imagery for the figures of Sultan Ibrahim and angels, going back to a now lost seventeenth century version. Losty cites Gauvin Bailey’s catalogue description of a similar picture in the St. Petersburg Muraqqa’ where Bailey writes that the figure of Ibrahim is derived from Christ in “The demon tempts Christ in the wilderness” and the angels from the “Poor Man’s Bible” of 1593, a book which arrived in the Mughal court in 1595.5

Provenance: The Stuart Cary Welch Collection Acquired by Dr Bamji on Tuesday, 12th December 1972 from the auction at Sotheby’s, New Bond Street, London, of Fine Indian and Persian Miniatures and a Manuscript: The Property of Cary Welch, 1972, lot 16.

References: 1. Toby Falk and Mildred Archer, Indian Miniatures in the India Office Library, 1981,

According to the legend, the angels administer to Ibrahim on the banks of the Tigris after he resigns his kingdom, bringing him ten dishes of food. This arouses the envy of a dervish who was a poor man before he assumes the habit of a beggar and to whom only one plate of food is given. The jealous ascetic is often depicted in other paintings of Sultan Ibrahim, looking very forlorn, but he is not shown here.

no. 325, p. 156. We are grateful to Jerry Losty for drawing our attention to this miniature, and for helping us with this catalogue entry.

We would also like to thank Robert Skelton for kindly supplying further information on Sultan Ibrahim, and drawing our attention to the Tadhkaratul-Auliya of Fariduddin ‘Attar, in which the story of Ibrahim is recorded. Falk and Archer note that Ibrahim was a ninth century king but Fariduddin ‘Attar says he died in 777 AD. 2. Selections from Fariduddins ‘Attar’s Tadhkaratul-Auliya [Memoirs of Saints]

A painting of Sultan Ibrahim and the angels, attributed to the Lucknow artist Hunhar, is in the Cynthia Hazen Polsky Collection, New York. This painting, which includes the poor dervish granted only dish, was exhibited at the Asia Society Museum in New York and published in Andrew Topsfield (ed.), In the Realm of Gods and Kings: Arts of India, 2004, pp. 196-197, cat. no. 80.

In the catalogue description, Jerry Losty observes that the various

68

Parts I & II, abridged and translated into English from the Persian by Bankey Behari, 1961, pp. 35, 36 and 37.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Engraved illustrations by Adrien Collaert, pls. 12 and 14 from Jerome Nadal’s Evangelicae Historae Imagines, Antwerp, 1593: see Gauvin Bailey in Oleg F. Akimushkin, The St. Petersburg Muraqqa’: Album of Indian and Persian Miniatures from the 16th through the 18th Century and Specimens of Calligraphy by ‘Imad al-Hasani, 1996, p. 81.

32 NOBLEWOMEN ON A MOONLIT TERRACE

INDIA (DELHI), 1790-1810

but wrapped up in her own thoughts and reverie.

HEIGHT: 17.3 CM WIDTH: 11.8 CM

Placed on the carpet between the figures are long-necked flasks (surahi) and tiny wine cups. In the foreground are gold pandans, a covered tray of food and oranges or persimmons. A standing attendant on the left brings a tray of further delicacies for their enjoyment.

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

An elegantly dressed noblewoman is seated on a floral carpet placed on a white marble terrace, leaning against a gold cushion. The scene is lit by the light of the moon and stars above. Placed comfortably on her lap is another gold cushion on which she rests her hands. She converses with a lady seated next to her. They offer each other delicate dishes of sweetmeats.

Attached to the front of the white marble pavilion is a floral canopy held up by gold posts and tethered by ropes. A gold floral door curtain is lifted up to reveal an interior room with a carpet on the floor and wall niches outlined in gold. The moon lights up a silvery landscape behind of a lake with rolling hills stretching into the far distance.

Seated to the right is another noblewoman holding a handkerchief in one hand and a string of beads in the other. She counts the beads with her fingers and this meditative exercise has resulted in an expression of serenity on her beautiful and gentle face.

Though the style of the painting can be related to the Lucknow school at Awadh, it was most probably painted at Delhi. The Mughal style was at this stage beginning to include slightly reddish faces, more heavily stippled with lamp black than previously.

The Mughal style went back from Lucknow to Delhi at the end of the eighteenth century.

With her abstracted air and eyes glancing slightly upwards, it is clear that she is not listening to the conversation of the other women

70

33 RAMA AND LASKHMANA IN THE GRASP OF KUMBHAKARNA

INDIA (MALWA), CIRCA 1690 HEIGHT: 20 CM WIDTH: 28.3 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

An illustration to a Ramayana series.

In order to recover his wife Sita, who has been captured by the demon Ravana and taken to the island of Lanka, Rama lays siege to Lanka, helped by the services of a large monkey and bear army. Part of their military assignment is the decimation of the demon host of Ravana.

This dramatic scene comes from Book VI of the Ramayana, the Yuddhakanda. Kumbhakarna, brother of Ravana, is the terrifying giant demon who inflicts severe casualties on the monkey army before Rama and Lakshmana enter the battle.

Measuring six hundred bow-lengths in height and one hundred bow-lengths in width, Kumbhakarna is as tall as a mountain. His eyes are as wide as cartwheels and his mouth is as vast as the blazing pit of hell.1 Kumbhakarna has already injured the monkey general, Hanuman, with a spear to the chest and taken Sugriva, the monkey king, as hostage back to Lanka. He has also killed thousands of monkey troops, trampling them to death or scooping them in handfuls of thirty at a time into his mouth, indiscriminately also consuming hundreds of rakshasas.

Unable to inflict any significant damage to the monster by hurling stones or boulders, the monkey army scatters in all directions to the sound of Kumbhakarna’s derisive laughter.

Kumbhakarna is systematically dismembered and decapitated by Rama, as shown in the next painting of this catalogue, cat. no. 34.

Kumbhakarna has been cursed by Brahma to spend most of his life asleep but he has been awakened to defend Lanka against Rama’s forces. Kumbhakarna is one of the most interesting characters in the Ramayana. While most characters clearly embody either vice or virtue, Kumbhakarna is a more complex figure, able to realise the mistakes of Ravana and oppose him where necessary. He does not approve of Ravana’s capture of Sita but nevertheless fights for Ravana’s side in the epic battle.

The bold simplicity and alluring charm of the Malwa style create a timeless, fairy-tale quality well suited to depicting the magical events of the Ramayana. The three figures are contained within a blue bubble created by the black sky pressing down from above and the waves or rocks rising from below. We get a sense of the darkness closing in on the world, and light being shut out should the demons defeat Rama.

Despite the retention of early Malwa features such as the ritual stylisation of the figures and the elimination of perspective, the floral sprays on the blue ground and the yellow floral borders show a discreet but definite Mughal influence. This is a characteristic shared by four pages from the same series exhibited at the Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, and published by Joachim Bautze in Lotosmond und Löwenritt: Indische Miniaturmalerei, 1991, pp. 202-205, nos. 88-91.

Provenance:

The Ramayana frequently refers to Kumbhakarna as the “long-armed warrior”. Here his long arms form an oval loop around Rama and Lakshmana and he stares at them with his terrifying eyes. Kumbhakarna seems about to crush them but each arm has two deep cuts which bleed profusely and are soon to drop off as

The Paul F. Walter Collection

Reference: 1. The story given here is compiled from Arshia Sattar (abridged and trans.), Valmiki: The Ramayana, 1996, pp. 568-578; and Hari Prasad Shastri (trans.), The Ramayana of Valmiki, 1953 & 1962, vol. III, pp. 156-189, chapters 60-67.

34 RAMA CHOPS KUMBHAK ARNA TO PIECES WITH HIS ARROWS INDIA (MALWA), CIRCA 1690 HEIGHT: 20 CM WIDTH: 28.3 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

An illustration to a Ramayana series.

Kumbhakarna is the giant demon who has inflicted severe casualties on the monkey army when Rama and Lakshmana enter the battle.

In this painting from Book VI of the Ramayana, the Yuddhakanda, the tide has finally begun to turn in Rama’s favour. Using magical weapons of great power, Rama dismembers Kumbhakarna and fills his mouth with a multitude of arrows. Amongst the monkeys and bears are the monkey general Hanuman, the monkey king Sugriva, and Jambavan the king of the bears.

Lying in piles at the bottom are vast numbers of the fallen monkey army.

Kumbhakarna has just captured Sugriva and taken him to Lanka as hostage. Realising that Kumbhakarna is much stronger than him and cannot be defeated by a lone monkey, Sugriva decides to enrage the monster by biting off his ears and his nose. In this picture Sugriva can be seen trying to rip off one of the monster’s ears while a blue bear attacks the other ear. Bleeding profusely, disoriented and howling with pain, the angry Kumbhakarna rushes back on to the battlefield, looking like a mountain drenched in cascades of blood.1 Rama invokes Shiva’s weapon and pierces Kumbhakarna’s heart with peacock-feathered arrows, causing Kumbhakarna to drop his mace.

Rama then invokes Vayu’s weapon and severs Kumbhakarna’s right arm, which carries an iron club. The arm and club fall to the ground, crushing hundreds of monkeys. Next Rama invokes Indra’s weapon and cuts off Kumbhakarna’s other arm, now

brandishing a tree. Laughing hideously, Kumbhakarna still lumbers relentlessly towards Rama who takes two crescent-shaped arrows and severs both of Kumbhakarna’s feet.

Kumbhakarna crashes resoundingly to the ground, yet with his mouth open wide and no limbs to speak of, still manages to move towards Rama through sheer will and onward momentum. Rama unleashes a cascade of steel-pointed arrows to fill the demon’s mouth; unable to emit a sound and choking from the arrows, Kumbhakarna becomes senseless.

Finally, using a gold and diamond tipped arrow as bright as the rays of the sun and resembling the rod of Brahma at the time of the final dissolution, Rama severs the enormous head of Kumbhakarna. The head falls to the earth, crushing ramparts, towers, roads, residences and the gates of Lanka city. The gigantic body rolls into the sea and crushes huge sharks, mighty serpents and shoals of fish, finally sinking to the depths of the seabed below.

Four pages from this series are published in Joachim Bautze, Lotosmond und Löwenritt: Indische Miniaturmalerei, 1991, pp. 202-205, nos. 88-91. Another page in the Jane Greenough Green Collection is illustrated in Pratapaditya Pal, Stephen Markel and Janice Leoshko, Pleasure Gardens of the Mind: Indian Paintings from the Jane Greenough Green Collection, 1993, pp. 48-49, no. 13. Other pages are in the Brooklyn Museum and the San Diego Museum of Art.

Provenance: The Paul F. Walter Collection

Reference: 1. The story given here is compiled from Arshia Sattar (abridged and trans.), Valmiki: The Ramayana, 1996, pp. 568-578; and Hari Prasad Shastri (trans.), The Ramayana of Valmiki, 1953 & 1962, vol. III, pp. 156-189, chapters 60-67.

35 MALLARI RAGINI

India (Malwa), 1670-1680 HEIGHT: 23 CM WIDTH: 17.5 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

An illustration to a Ragamala series.

Mallari Ragini is depicted as a lone female ascetic seated cross-legged on a deer skin, under a canopy attached to a turreted pavilion with chhatris (domed pavilions) flanking a central kiosk tower. With her eyes closed deep in meditation, she counts a long rosary of prayer beads (rudrakshamala) with both hands.

The deer skin is placed on a striped carpet beside the white marble pavilion. Inner brick walls coloured soft blue and grey have niches containing gold long-necked vases (surahis). The white marble pillars and surrounds are carved with a wide variety of patterns, including interlocking trefoil palmettes, cusps and rectangular cartouches.

A female attendant emerges from the building with an offering, fully and respectfully dressed in green and gold, a contrast to Mallari who is naked save for her loin cloth worn like a sadhu. Her long jet black hair, a vivid counterpoint to her pale ivory skin, is tied into a long plait from which dangle jewelled tassels.

Mallari’s face is a superb study of intense contemplation.

background is a deep blue evening sky. A white bird flies towards the central tower where its companion has already perched. The painting is set inside red and yellow margins.

The yellow text panel has been left blank.

In a translation of a Hindi couplet describing Mallari given by Klaus Ebeling in Ragamala Painting, 1973, p. 136, Mallari’s “ears are bedecked by ornaments made of conch shell.

She wears a kaupin, a narrow band of cloth around the waist, as some of the sadhus wear, and roams the village semi-nude as a mendicant”.

This painting was formerly in the collection of Doris Wiener and published in her exhibition catalogue, Indian Miniature Paintings, 1973, cat. no. 74.

According to Wiener, another page from this series is reproduced in the article by Pratapaditya Pal, “Indian Art from the Paul Walter Collection”, in the Allen Memorial Art Museum Bulletin, vol. XXVIII, no. 2, Winter, 1971, pl. 7.

Provenance: Doris Wiener Gallery, New York, 1967

Exhibited: Doris Wiener Gallery, New York, 1973, April 7th to June 15th, cat. no. 74.

An undulating stream, seen from above, is in the foreground. Ducks and fish swim in its waters. In the

Allentown Art Museum, Pennsylvania, October-November, 1978.

36 A N A C R O B AT I C E M B R A C E

INDIA (MALWA), 1675-1700 HEIGHT: 21.5 CM WIDTH: 15.4 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

A folio from an illustrated erotic series.

Within a pavilion bedchamber against a greyish blue background, a couple are making vigorous love in an acrobatic sexual embrace. The man stands upright beside the bed and effortlessly lifts the woman up by her ankles. With the strength of a gymnast he holds her body so that she dangles downwards, her hands barely touching the floor as she sways towards and away from him by the force of his passionate grasp.

Though naked, their lithe bodies are adorned with elaborate jewellery including necklaces, bracelets, bazubands, hair ornaments and anklets. The man retains his dashing turban, white floral garland and slender belt around his waist. She wears pompoms strung between her toes. The couple are both fair of complexion but the man’s slightly darker skin allows us to appreciate the elegant placement of their intertwined limbs.

On the wall to the right is a bracket in the shape of a horse’s head, on which their discarded garments are hung. Wall brackets, hooks and other hanging pegs in decorative stylised animal forms, can be seen in many Malwa miniatures and are

still visible on site in some Rajput forts and palaces. While these are most often made of tempered steel, the horse wall bracket seen in the present miniature, and in other paintings of this series, may be carved out of marble or yellow sandstone. The horse smiles gently as it observes the tryst. The garments hung around its neck sweep towards the bed as if in yearning, joining other elements of the composition: the saturated red of the bed; the secretive, enveloping, inky black night sky above; the intertwining foliate scrolls of the architectural decoration, to convey the passionate intensity of their embrace. The economy of means used to achieve this is as remarkable as the potency of expression.

This painting belongs to a series of miniatures illustrating couples engaged in amorous pursuits.

Instructive paintings of this type were not made for titillation but for education, and were probably intended to illustrate manuals on the arts of love, such as Mallanaga Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra, which dates from between the second to the fifth centuries.

It appears that the accompanying text meant to be written in the yellow panel above was never included in any of the paintings in this series. It would have been interesting to read the instructions on how a couple of average athletic ability might achieve such dynamic positions in their love making.

Pratapaditya Pal, The Classical Tradition in Rajput Painting, 1978, pp. 78-79, no. 16. Pal also illustrates a page from the John and Berthe Ford collection in Pratapaditya Pal, Desire and Devotion: Art from India, Nepal and Tibet, 2001, pp. 174-175, no. 92.

Another page from this series is illustrated in the Simon Ray Indian & Islamic Works of Art catalogue, 2007, pp. 98-99. cat. no. 40. Two pages in the Brooklyn Museum are published in Amy G. Poster, Realms of Heroism: Indian Paintings at the Brooklyn Museum, 1994, pp. 189-191, nos. 144A and B. In each of these paintings can be seen a horse wall bracket like the one in the present miniature, similarly hung with items of clothing. Other consistent elements of the series include the domed pavilions, red bed with spindly black feet and plump tasselled cushions, the blind panel to the top and the bold arabesque of gilt scrolling vines decorating the bottom panel.

According to Pal, such erotic illuminations were very popular among the upper classes, and many surviving examples are executed with the same degree of artistic sophistication as pictures depicting more decorous subjects.

Provenance: Doris Weiner Gallery, New York, 1970s

Exhibited:

A page from this series in the Paul F. Walter collection is published in

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Erotic Art, Art Center of New School for Social Research, New York, 1974, cat. no. 63.

37 B A L A R A M A P U L L S T H E YA M U N A R I V E R

INDIA (UDAIPUR), CIRCA 1680 HEIGHT: 24 CM WIDTH: 17.7 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold and silver on paper.

An illustration to the Bhagavata Purana.

White skinned Balarama wears a red dhoti as he uses his ploughshare to pull the river Yamuna closer to his resting place seen above. The river spirits are represented as four elegantly dressed ladies holding their hands up in supplication to dissuade him. The river is filled with lotuses and the zigzag banks lined with flowering plants.

This famous episode from the Bhagavata Purana comes during the course of Balarama’s visit to Mathura, when he stops by in Vraja to visit his family. He wanders in the woods with the gopas (cowherds) and encounters intoxicating juices oozing from the kadamba tree, “placed there by the goddess of wine”, which he drinks with his gopa friends.1 Inebriated and perspiring, Balarama calls out boastfully to the Yamuna to come hither towards him so that he can bathe.

The river ignores him, thinking him a drunken man of little consequence. Balarama is enraged at her disobedience, plunges his ploughshare into the riverbank and drags the river towards him, compelling a change of direction by diverting its course. Petrified, the Yamuna takes human form and begs Balarama to forgive her. Balarama is appeased with difficulty and lets go of her only after he has “watered the entire region” and bathed in it with his gopa friends and the gopis.2

This painting was formerly in the collection of Doris Wiener, who eloquently describes it thus, in her Tenth Annual Exhibition Catalogue of 1974: “The Jamuna is a shimmering black current flowing in an excited pattern down the right hand side of the painting. The river’s surface is laced with a swirling network of silver waves and floral sprays. Balarama’s anger appears to have vanished as he approaches the river ploughshare in hand. His expression is one of eager attention for the shimmering river with its hidden treasure of four admiring water spirits.”

Provenance: Doris Wiener Gallery, New York, before 1974

Exhibited and Published: Doris Wiener Gallery, Indian Miniature Paintings: Tenth Annual Exhibition, 16th November to 31st December, 1974, cat. no. 49.

References: 1. The story is given in B. N. Goswamy and A. L. Dallapiccola, Krishna: The Divine Lover, 1982, pp. 74-75.

2. Ibid.

38 THE KING, THE ELEPHANT AND THE SNAKE CHARMER

INDIA (UDAIPUR), CIRCA 1695 HEIGHT: 28 CM WIDTH: 24 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

An illustration from a Sarangdharapaddhati series.

Inscribed in devanagari to the top in the yellow panel.

A great king is seated in his palace on a golden throne. Standing behind is a courtier brandishing a chowrie (flywhisk). Providing shade from the bright sun above is a canopy held in place by diagonal poles. Steps lead down from the palace to the snake charmer (sapera) seated in front of an open wicker basket from which a black cobra rises with flared hood, enchanted by the snake charmer’s flute (pungi or bean). Behind the snake charmer is a royal elephant tethered to a rock. Placed to the side of the steps is a parrot in a cage. The figures at the bottom left are the narrator expounding his theme to a listening student, while to the upper left are a further narrator and listener under the evening sky as indicated by the moon.

The mysterious face floating next to both the sun and the moon is Rahu the “seizer”, a navagraha responsible for the eclipses of the sun and the moon who was decapitated by Vishnu.

The Sarangdharapaddhati is a didactic text dating from 1363, one of several famous compilations of didactic or descriptive verses from the Sanskrit poets.1 This anthology of more than a thousand Sanskrit lyric stanzas with work by over 300 poets was compiled by Sarangdhar, a poet who flourished in the middle of the fourteenth century.

Sarangdhar is the author of the Hamir Hath and said to be the descendant of another great poet, Chand Bardai, composer of the Prithvirajaraso.

According to Andrew Topsfield, the Sarangdharapaddhati differs from other collections in comprising not only the usual well-turned verses or epigrams on kama, artha and dharma, but more down to earth advice on such matters as horses, swords, omens and portents, gardening and manure-making.2 As many as five illustrated series of verses from the collection were formerly in the Mewar Royal Library,

three with texts wholly or partly in Sanskrit and two in Hindi.3 A painting from this series is illustrated in Andrew Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur: Art under the patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar, 2002, p. 98, fig. 67. This painting depicts the danger of greed. The moral is delivered through a powerfully condensed continuous narrative and shows in one page how greed can in a moment reduce a man to a blade of grass, even though he be as firm-natured as Mount Meru.4 Four paintings from this series in the Metzger Collection were exhibited at the Linden-Museum Stuttgart and published in Joachim Bautze, Lotosmond und Löwenritt, 1991, pp. 197-201, cat. nos. 84-87.

Another leaf depicting Ravana and his counsellors is illustrated in Raj Kumar Tandan, Indian Miniature Painting: 16th through 19th Centuries, 1982, pl. XXXIV. References: 1. Andrew Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur: Art under the patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar, 2002, pp. 98-99.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

39 THE TECHNIQUES OF GARDENING

INDIA (UDAIPUR), CIRCA 1695 HEIGHT: 27.3 CM WIDTH: 23.5 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

An illustration from a Sarangdharapaddhati series.

Inscribed in devanagari to the top in the yellow panel.

The Sarangdharapaddhati is a didactic text dating from 1363, one of several famous compilations of didactic or descriptive verses from the Sanskrit poets.1 According to Andrew Topsfield, the Sarangdharapaddhati differs from other collections in comprising not only the usual well-turned verses or epigrams on kama, artha and dharma, but more down to earth advice on such matters as horses, swords, omens and portents, gardening and manure-making.2

One chapter of the Sarangdharapaddhati, the Upavanavinoda, is a Sanskrit thesis on ancient arbori-horticulture.

From this text, a medieval gardener could learn how to make kunapajala, the liquid organic manure of antiquity. It is possible that this is what the gardeners are making to give the grove its delightful lushness and verdant aspect.

According to Y. L. Nene in the online article “Kunapajala: A Liquid Organic Manure of Antiquity”, the dictionary meaning of the Sanskrit word kunapa is “smelling like a dead body, stinking”. The manure kunapambu or kunapajala (jala meaning water), which was prepared and used since ancient times in India, was appropriately named because it involved fermentation of animal remains, such as flesh, marrow, fat, bones, brains and excreta.3

There is no fixity as to the amount of these elements; when the said pot is put in a warm place for about a fortnight the compound becomes what is called kunapa water (kunapajala), which is very nourishing for plants in general.” 4 Nene observes that the poet Sarangdhar was clear that almost any animal waste can be used in preparing kunapajala. As cited above, incubation of the boiled kunapajala for two weeks is specified.

No doubt this very smelly mixture would result in plants as exquisite as those in the present painting.

References: 1. Andrew Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur: Art under the patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar, 2002, pp. 98-99.

2. Ibid.

3. This article by Y. L. Nene can be read on

The following translation by Girija Prasanna Majumdar of verses 171-174 of the Upavanavinoda details the recipe:

bbkewalram’s blog, link: http://my.garden-

“One should boil the flesh, fat, marrow of deer, pig, fish, sheep, goat, and rhinoceros in water, and when it is properly boiled one should put the mixture in an earthen pot and add into the compound milk, powders of sesame oil cake, black gram boiled in honey, the decoction of pulses, ghee, and hot water.

Upavanavinoda: A Sanskrit thesis on

guides.com/blogs/bbkewalrams/tag/ Ancient_farming_method.

4. Ibid., Nene quotes Sarangdhara and Girija Prasanna Majumdar (ed. and trans.),

This charming miniature depicts a group of gardeners working in a lush grove planted with exquisite variegated trees. Two men pound a fertilising mixture within a bowl while two other gardeners sieve powder or grain through a cloth into another bowl. They are observed by a meditating figure on the left wearing a yogapatta or binding-cloth around his knees. Sitting on the terrace of a pavilion are the narrators of the scene, visually linked to the gardeners by a man offering them wine from a gold goblet, perhaps produce of the local vineyard. Two extremely well dressed noblemen to the bottom may be the proud owners of the estate. A bird in a cage and a dog complete the garden scene.

Arboriculture: A verse treatise with English translation, 1935, verses 171-174.

40 THE WISDOM OF BRAHMA

INDIA (UDAIPUR), CIRCA 1695 HEIGHT: 27.3 CM WIDTH: 24 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

An illustration from a Sarangdharapaddhati series.

Inscribed in devanagari to the top in the yellow panel.

Constructed on two intersecting diagonals, this painting has at its centre a scribe or poet writing in his pavilion. He may be the same figure lying on his bed in contemplation to the lower left and on the upper right, we see him thinking about theological and philosophical issues.

To the bottom right he is seated before a narrator who is expounding to him the teachings of Brahma, who can be seen to the upper left.

Brahma holds a sacred text in each of his four hands and turns each of his four heads to deliver a sermon to four attendant figures who are seated as students before him.

They are the hero of the painting, a female devotee, a horse and an elephant. Brahma’s vehicle the white hamsa (goose or mythical swan) also

listens appreciatively to the lectures.

The fine muslin of his diaphanous robe and the elegant gold katar (thrust-dagger) in a velvet scabbard tucked into his patka (sash), indicate that the hero of this painting is clearly a nobleman who has contemplated on Brahma’s great wisdom.

The Sarangdharapaddhati is a didactic text dating from 1363, one of several famous compilations of didactic or descriptive verses from the Sanskrit poets.1 This anthology of more than a thousand Sanskrit lyric stanzas with work by over 300 poets was compiled by Sarangdhar, a poet who flourished in the middle of the fourteenth century. Sarangdhar is the author of the Hamir Hath and said to be the descendant of another great poet, Chand Bardai, composer of the Prithvirajaraso.

According to Andrew Topsfield, the Sarangdharapaddhati differs from other collections in comprising not only the usual well-turned verses or epigrams on kama, artha and dharma, but more down to earth advice on such matters as horses, swords, omens and portents, gardening and manure making.2 As many as five illustrated series of verses from the collection were formerly in the Mewar Royal Library, three with texts wholly or partly in Sanskrit and two in Hindi.3

87

A painting from this series is illustrated in Andrew Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur: Art under the patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar, 2002, p. 98, fig. 67. This painting depicts the danger of greed.

The moral is delivered through a powerfully condensed continuous narrative and shows in one page how greed can in a moment reduce a man to a blade of grass, even though he be as firm-natured as Mount Meru.4 Four paintings from this series in the Metzger Collection were exhibited at the Linden-Museum Stuttgart and published in Joachim Bautze, Lotosmond und Löwenritt, 1991, pp. 197-201, cat. nos. 84-87.

Another leaf depicting Ravana and his counsellors is illustrated in Raj Kumar Tandan, Indian Miniature Painting: 16th through 19th Centuries, 1982, pl. XXXIV.

References: 1. Andrew Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur: Art under the patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar, 2002, pp. 98-99.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

41 T O O L AT E T O D I G A W E L L F O R W AT E R W H E N YO U R H O U S E I S O N F I R E

INDIA (UDAIPUR), CIRCA 1695 HEIGHT: 27.5 CM WIDTH: 24 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

An illustration from a Sarangdharapaddhati series.

Inscribed in devanagari to the top in the yellow panel.

The importance of planning ahead is part of the good advice that is often delivered in the aphorisms and pithy sayings of the ancient scriptures. A subhashita (good speech or wise saying) stanza from the Sarangdharapaddhati provides the following comment in a brilliant and memorable image, well suited to illustration: “One should always plan for remedial measures before one comes across calamities. Digging a well is not a proper step to take when the house is already ablaze”.

Within the walls of a palace, a ruler and his counsellor discuss the pitfalls of such a situation and the best strategies to avoid it. To the left, a house in the village is on fire, the flames threatening to engulf the other homes. A man and his wife, carrying all their belongings, rush from the flames. A man desperately begins to dig a well but he is far too late, and has barely made a dent in the ground. An old woman with a walking stick hobbles sadly away from the burning village, having lost everything in the disastrous fire.

Her forlorn figure visually connects the poetic narrators on the right to the turbulent scene below.

Watching implacably from the sky above is Vishnu seated on a lotus.

The Sarangdharapaddhati is a didactic text dating from 1363, one of several famous compilations of didactic or descriptive verses from the Sanskrit poets.1 This anthology of more than a thousand Sanskrit lyric stanzas with work by over 300 poets was compiled by Sarangdhar, a poet who flourished in the middle of the fourteenth century.

Sarangdhar is the author of the Hamir Hath and said to be the descendant of another great poet, Chand Bardai, composer of the Prithvirajaraso.

According to Andrew Topsfield, the Sarangdharapaddhati differs from other collections in comprising not only the usual well-turned verses or epigrams on kama, artha and dharma, but more down to earth advice on such matters as horses, swords, omens and portents, gardening and manure-making.2 As many as five illustrated series of verses from the collection were formerly in the Mewar Royal Library, three with texts wholly or partly in Sanskrit and two in Hindi.3 A painting from this series is illustrated in Andrew Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur: Art under the

patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar, 2002, p. 98, fig. 67. This painting depicts the danger of greed. The moral is delivered through a powerfully condensed continuous narrative and shows in one page how greed can in a moment reduce a man to a blade of grass, even though he be as firm-natured as Mount Meru.4 Four paintings from this series in the Metzger Collection were exhibited at the Linden-Museum Stuttgart and published in Joachim Bautze, Lotosmond und Löwenritt, 1991, pp. 197-201, cat. nos. 84-87.

Another leaf depicting Ravana and his counsellors is illustrated in Raj Kumar Tandan, Indian Miniature Painting: 16th through 19th Centuries, 1982, pl. XXXIV.

References: 1. Andrew Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur: Art under the patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar, 2002, pp. 98-99.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

42 E U R O P E A N F O O L S S E AT E D O N A C A R P E T

INDIA (UDAIPUR), CIRCA 1750 FOLIO: HEIGHT: 36 CM WIDTH: 49 CM MINIATURE: HEIGHT: 26.2 CM WIDTH: 36.5 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold and silver on paper.

Two men are seated on a carpet, one in yellow wearing gold archers’ rings, holding a thin red European pipe between his teeth and gesturing with his right hand, the other in blue with his finger against his nose. A white dog and small child climb on top of the blue figure whilst looking at the third man whose mouth is open in pain as a snake bites his chin. Though the boy has the hair of a European cherub, he wears a dhoti and Indian jewellery. The figures are seated on a deep red carpet with frolicking beasts and golden vessels before them.

A painting with an almost identical composition is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This is published in Darielle Mason et al, Intimate Worlds: Indian Paintings from the Alvin O. Bellak Collection, 2001, pp. 154-155, no. 63.

In his essay on the Bellak painting on p. 154, John Seyller surmises on the European sources for this strange composition, “a bizarre image of three quirky characters lounging on a wildly animated carpet. The pair

of figures huddled at left set the jarring tone of the work. Their brightly coloured Indian-style robes contrast strongly with each other, but even more so with the long-nosed light-skinned faces emerging unexpectedly from them. One figure wears an English-style wig of the eighteenth century, but his companion, having abandoned his own wig as well as the decorum it demands, exposes a close-cropped pate. Both their expressions, probably originally mirthful, have degenerated into toothy grins, clownishly outlined lips, onion-like arcs of flesh around the eyes and side-long glances.”

some of the gold trays seem to sit on top of the deer suggest that they are placed on the carpet but then the tiny zafar takieh at the bottom centre becomes hard to explain visually.

Seyller suggests that the composition is a fantastic concoction of elements drawn from disparate European sources, the intertwined figures entering the creative mix as one unit, the child and dog as another.

The screaming figure is an independent unit, demonstrated by the existence of two separate unpublished paintings of the same snake-bitten figure dating to the 1760s. These both show a man dressed in European robes facing left with a snake biting his chin, a pictorial convention that provides a reason to render a face contorted in pain.

The bald figure presses his left index finger to his nose, a gesture that suggests the use of snuff. The figure on the extreme right is the most extraordinary. He “leans forward casually but simultaneously opens his mouth to emit a blood-curdling shriek. The provocation for this cry is not apparent at first but turns out to be a snake that has risen between the figure’s exposed ribs, wrapped itself around his scrawny neck and unleashed his fangs on his chin”.

The figures on the left resemble characters from William Hogarth.

However, Doris Wiener also had in her collection three sketches of the pair of fools with the same intertwined hands, European pipe, and figure with finger pointing to his nose. This configuration suggests a much earlier original source, a circa 1600 painting by the Flemish artist Pieter Balten, depicting a rebus (an allusional device that uses pictures to represent words) of the old Dutch proverb, “de wereld voedt veel zotten” (the world feeds many fools). This shows a row of objects to the top that symbolise the first part of the proverb: on orb for “the world”, a foot for “feeds”, a fiddle for “many” and the zalta or

The tiny creatures that cavort around the main figures are ostensibly motifs on a pictorial carpet but seem to come alive in their three-dimensional rendering.

The animals include prowling cheetahs, leaping deer, and tigers fighting with dragons. They leap amongst rocks and tiny vessels.

We cannot be sure if the containers are within the design of the carpet or placed on the carpet. The way

91

two men for “fools”. This Renaissance imagery may have found its way to India in prints and engravings.

Catherine Glynn has kindly drawn our attention to a third version of the composition in a private collection. This is as yet unpublished.

Both the composition and the colour scheme of this third version are closely related to our painting and the Philadelphia version. Udaipur painting was especially popular in Jaipur during the decades of the mid eighteenth century as Raja Madho Singh, the ruler of Jaipur from 1750-1768, had spent his youth in Udaipur, where he was raised by his Rana uncle and his maternal Udaipur family. Many Udaipur paintings are to be found within the royal Jaipur collection and must have been brought by Madho Singh to Jaipur upon his return from Udaipur and his regaining his status as Raja of Jaipur in 1750.

Stylistically, it is possible that this third version was made in Jaipur as a response to seeing our painting, a practice that was very common in Jaipur during the second half of the eighteenth century. Seyller has suggested a date of circa 1760 for the Bellak painting and Glynn has suggested that our painting may be a little bit earlier, circa 1750.

Provenance: Doris Wiener Gallery, New York, mid 1970s

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Catherine Glynn for her expert advice on this painting.

43 M A H A R A N A S A R U P S I N G H O F M E WA R

INDIA (UDAIPUR), DATED 1859

of Tara in the month of Shravan VS 1916/1859 AD.

BY SIVALAL FOLIO: HEIGHT: 41.9 CM WIDTH: 30.5 CM IMAGE: HEIGHT: 22.8 CM WIDTH: 15.2 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold and silver on paper.

The devanagari inscription in the dark blue band at the top of the painting devanagari identifies Maharana Sarup Singh and tells us that the painting was presented by the artist Shivalal (Sivalal) son

A further inscription in English in the cartouche within the dark blue border to the bottom gives us Sarup Singh’s grandiose titles: “Sreemaharajadheeraja Maharajadhee Shree Sroop Singh”, This elegant portrait of Maharana Sarup Singh of Mewar (reigned 1842-1861), shows the ruler seated on a jharokha balcony facing right, resting on a golden bolster behind and leaning with his right arm on a blue and gold carpet draped on the balcony railing. Sarup Singh is depicted in a classic portrait mode that reveals only his upper body, his handsome features framed by a green and gold nimbus. Wearing an almost transparent patka and adorned with strands of pearls, his sky blue turban is laden with more pearl strands and a delicate sarpech. The composition is framed by spandrels and a wide border with repeating gold foliate motifs and cartouches of European design.

Above Sarup Singh are two layers of delicately frilled pelmet curtains from which hangs what seems to be a Victorian light fitting or a ceiling fan (punkah) in the very latest European influenced fashion.

Placed in the foreground of the composition is a marble basin with acanthus leaf designs, filled with lotus flowers rising from the silvery water. The balcony is decorated with a border of repeated Doric motifs picked out in gold.

This painting may be compared with a closely related composition by Sivalal dated 1858. This is illustrated in Andrew Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur: Art under the patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar, 2002, p. 267, fig. 244. This seated full-length portrait of Sarup Singh is a similar exercise by Sivalal in European techniques, no doubt with Sarup Singh’s enthusiastic approval.

The painting uses light stippling and hatching after a contemporary European engraving model with delicate gilding. It has elaborate European style margins with trellis and creeper decoration and a cartouche with the Rana’s name in an imitation of English script. 1 During the reigns of Sarup Singh’s predecessors Jawan Singh and Sardar Singh, both indifferent patrons, painting at Mewar fell into a moribund state. 2 The painter Tara, whose career spanned thirty years from 1836 to 1868, represents its revival and final flowering. His influence continued to be felt through his talented son, Sivalal. The painters were encouraged to experiment by Sarup Singh, a keen patron of the arts, amateur painter and designer

of coins and costume, including the crested Svarupshahi turban of his own design seen in many paintings of the period. 3 Sarup Singh loved sartorial display and as noted by Col. Robinson, “his personal appearance is much in his favour, and the urbanity of his manner very engaging”. 4 Pictures of his reign invariably show him dressed with great panache in sumptuous clothes, elaborate jewellery and exceedingly stylish accessories, which his painters were expected to record in careful detail.

Note for example the beautiful splayed cuffs with chic gold trim he sports in the present painting, and the long thin pale blue sash matching his turban looped around his torso, with the end tossed nonchalantly over the balcony.

Sarup Singh was also modish and adventurous in interior design, incorporating French glasswork and Staffordshire plates and other European features into the remodelling of his palace apartments, elements of which can be seen in this painting.5

Provenance: Acquired from Terence McInerney, 1996.

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Andrew Tospfield for his expert advice.

References: 1. Andrew Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur: Art under the patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar, 2002, p. 266.

2. Ibid., pp. 252-253.

3. Ibid., p. 254.

4. Ibid., pp. 253-254.

5. Ibid., pp. 254-255.

44 A V I S I T T O A S H I VA S H R I N E

INDIA (KOTAH), CIRCA 1770 HEIGHT: 28.5 CM WIDTH: 20.5 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

A female devotee of Shiva, dressed in a pink robe with long plaited hair, is seated opposite a musician holding a vina and a flower. The vina is the favourite instrument and attribute of Shiva, the master musician of the gods. Three further female ascetics are seated below, one holding a sacred manuscript, the second a jewelled crutch (zafar takieh) and the third a pink flower. A large peacock feather fan (morchal) lies on the floor.

The ascetic holding the flower wears an elaborate patchwork robe and a cloth band around her knees. Like the zafar takieh held by her friend, the narrow cloth band, known as a yogapatta or binding-cloth, is an aid to long sessions of meditation, holding the raised knees in place for prolonged periods or binding the body into difficult and complicated yogic postures.

The patchwork coat is the symbolic attire of the humble mendicant, where a virtue is made of poverty by the constant repair of a single item of clothing, patching it again and again with rags and scraps of cloth.

However, like all the other figures in the painting, the ascetic with the patchwork coat looks rather splendid, the coat spectacular rather than tattered. Beneath the sleeve of the coat can be seen the gold cuffs that all her companions also wear, and her hands and feet are hennaed and adorned with jewels. She wears a pearl necklace from which hangs a jewelled pendant and even her begging bowl is made of gold.

The gold vina held by the musician is no less splendid. It is decorated with Mughal style floral sprays within oval cartouches. The musician is dressed in a saffron jama and a bodice that reveals rather than conceals the voluptuous form of her breasts.

Her costume is completed by a diaphanous veil of gossamer transparency. Like the patchwork ascetic, she also offers a flower with her hennaed hand.

The most dazzlingly bejewelled is the principal devotee herself. Unlike her companions who all wear caps or headbands, she wears her hair in long trailing locks in imitation of Shiva’s matted locks. The string of large oval gold and gem-set beads trailing diagonally across her body is in conscious imitation of Shiva’s string of human skulls.

From the magnificence of their attire and the exquisite accoutrements that they carry, we must conclude that the devotee and the group of ascetics are in fact noblewomen paying a visit to a Shiva shrine, dressed in sumptuous versions of mendicant clothing.

The ascetics are all seated in front of a bamboo structure containing a Shiva lingam set in a yoni, with a female devotee inside making an offering of flowers. The lingam is being lustrated by a steady stream of water or oil dripping from the pot hanging in a basket above.

More pots can be seen outside the hut where food is being cooked in a stack of lotas on a brazier. Framing the scene is a tree on the right with delicately individuated leaves and behind, a sky with a vibrant orange sunset.

This painting displays elements of the iconography of Bhairavi Ragini, the first wife of Bhairav Raga. She is most often depicted

worshipping at a Shiva shrine accompanied by her maidens. The lingam, a phallic emblem representing the god, is traditionally decorated with flowers. The imagery of Bhairavi Ragini is related to that of Bhairav Raga, who is visualised as Lord Shiva himself, often accompanied by Nandi bull or his wives.

As with the following Bundi picture of “Ladies worshipping Shiva lingam” in the present catalogue, cat. no 45, it is tempting to label this a Ragamala painting depicting Bhairavi Ragini.

However, Robert Skelton has observed that the elements of both pictures are too elaborate to be Bhairavi Ragini paintings. Ragamala paintings would normally follow the established iconography quite strictly with little variation or additional figures. For a classic example of Bhairavi Ragini, see Klaus Ebeling, Ragamala Painting, 1973, p. 33, no. C4.

Provenance: Doris Wiener Gallery, New York, 1970s

45 L A D I E S W O R S H I P P I N G S H I VA L I N G A M AT A S H R I N E I N T H E F O R E S T

INDIA (BUNDI ARTIST AT PRATAPGARH), 1740-1760 HEIGHT: 18.7 CM WIDTH: 11 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold and silver on paper.

This charming and atmospheric painting depicts three ladies with sandalwood paste smeared on their foreheads, holding golden vessels for their morning ablutions while making offerings to a Shiva lingam beneath two trees. The lingam and yoni are set on a green box and covered with offerings of lotus flowers. Above the lingam is a clay vessel composed of two stacked lotas on a four-legged stand, from which water or oil would slowly drip to lustrate the lingam.

Flowing water in the foreground and background suggest they are standing on an island or a promontory jutting into a lake or river. Swimming amongst the lotus leaves and flowers are a family of ducks, with a delightful detail of four ducklings in a line preceding their watchful parents.

traditionally decorated with flowers.

The imagery of Bhairavi Ragini is related to that of Bhairav Raga, who is visualised as Lord Shiva himself, often accompanied by a Nandi bull or his wives.

As with the preceding Kotah picture of “A visit to a Shiva shrine” in the present catalogue, no 44, it is tempting to label this a Ragamala painting depicting Bhairavi Ragini.

However, Robert Skelton has observed that the elements of both pictures are too elaborate to be Bhairavi Ragini paintings. Ragamala paintings would normally follow the established iconography quite strictly with little variation or additional figures. In the present picture, the morning hour and lake setting are part of the correct iconography for Bhairavi but it is unclear which of the three women can be the Ragini herself. It is more likely to be a picture of these ladies worshipping at a shrine. For a classic example of Bhairavi Ragini, see Klaus Ebeling, Ragamala Painting, 1973, p. 33, no. C4.

states in that area may have used the services of jobbing painters from neighbouring places such as Mandasor, and also larger towns like Bundi.

The family affinities of Pratapgarh were with Mewar, which is why the few paintings ascribed to Pratapgarh exhibit Mewar style characteristics.

A typically Mewar style painting was attributed to Pratapgarh in the Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York auction of Indian art on 14th December 1979, lot 130. Presumably there was evidence of its origin from Pratapgarh. Doris Wiener may also have had evidence that our present picture in the Bundi style came from Pratapgarh.

Wiener hesitated to call this painting a Bhairavi Ragini and we have thus followed her elegant title of “Ladies worshipping Shiva lingam at a shrine in the forest”.1

Provenance: Doris Wiener Gallery, New York, acquired

At the base of the shrine, a diminutive Nandi bull, the vehicle of Shiva, looks up in adoration at the lingam. Two saris lie discarded at the base of the tree. The deep orange of the morning sky is visible through the branches.

This painting was formerly in the collection of Doris Wiener in New York. According to notes in the Wiener archive, this is a painting from Pratapgarh. However, it is in the Bundi style so it is probably a Bundi painting found in a Pratapgarh collection, or by a Bundi artist working at Pratapgarh.

The two towns are only about 460 kilometres apart.

This painting displays elements of the iconography of Bhairavi Ragini, the first wife of Bhairav Raga. She is most often depicted worshipping at a Shiva shrine accompanied by her maidens. The lingam, a phallic emblem representing the god, is

Pratapgarh is most famous for its glass thewa jewellery. According to Skelton, there is evidence of painting at Pratapgarh but it is not certain that there was a single stylistically coherent Pratapgarh school of painting. The small central Indian

at Sotheby’s New York, 1980, lot 267.

Acknowledgement: We are grateful to Robert Skelton for his expert advice on this painting and to Nayef Homsi for kindly supplying the Pratapgarh information from the Wiener archive.

Reference: 1. The interesting question of whether a painting with related iconography of ladies worshipping at a shrine can be considered

96

a depiction of Bhairavi Ragini is explored by B. N. Goswamy in Painted Visions: The Goenka Collection of Indian Paintings, 1999, p. 164, no.

129. In this case there is insufficient detail for Goswamy to be sure that the painting is a depiction of Bhairavi, whereas our painting has the opposite of too much detail.

46 VIRGIN WITH CHRIST CHILD

their beaks meeting at a central point and their bodies and wings radiating outwards.

Four fluttering insects dart and buzz in attendance around each floral spray.

INDIA (BUNDI), CIRCA 1740 HEIGHT: 24 CM WIDTH: 14 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper, laid down with an orange border.

Blue-and-white vessels are placed on each side of the Madonna and Child. On the left are footed bowls and stem cups containing a variety of fruits including persimmons and pomegranates; one of the pomegranates is cut open to reveal the seeds inside.

On the left are two blue-and-white long-necked vases (surahis), the larger decorated with a blue galloping horse. Interspersed with the blue-and-white vessels are tiny glass surahis or rosewater sprinklers (gulabpash) with stems of extreme attenuation.

This exquisite painting depicts the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child in her arms. The Virgin Mary stands in bare feet on a blue and green carpet with a floral trellis and a yellow trailing leaf and vine border. She is wrapped in a swirling mauve and gold embroidered robe and shawl, worn over an inner tunic and dress with a blue collar and vermilion skirt and sleeves.

The infant Christ Child looks up lovingly at his mother as he raises one hand to tug at her shawl. He has long curly locks of hair that cascade down his back onto her arm, and he wears a robe of solid gold, devoid of all pattern and resplendently blazing at the very heart of the picture. Both the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child have haloes as well as Indian style earrings of gems and pearls. The Christ Child wears gold anklets while the Virgin Mary has hennaed hands and painted toe and finger nails. As the Virgin’s robe resembles a sari, as well as the traditional robe worn by religious personages in European paintings, Indian

and European elements are here seamlessly combined in a quixotic mixture.

In the white background are cyclamens, green and pink birds and butterflies with quivering antennae, superimposed and intertwined into the outlines of plants of miraculous and magnificent appearance. In each plant, what appear at first to be three large flowers are in fact three birds hurtling down towards a cluster of green serrated leaves composed of another five birds,

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The painting has a curving strip of pale blue sky to the top with flocks of Sarus cranes flying swiftly through the gradually darkening gold streaked clouds.

This is an unusual version of a religious subject, probably copied from or influenced by Armenian religious paintings, prints and illuminated manuscripts. The artist may also have seen Mughal depictions of European religious themes, though the treatment here is very different in character.

Provenance: Acquired from Maggs Bros. Ltd., London, July 1987, no. 23.

The Paul F. Walter Collection

47 M A H A R A J A S U R M A S E N A N D A Y O U N G AT T E N D A N T

INDIA (MANDI), CIRCA 1785 HEIGHT: 20.3 CM WIDTH: 22.2 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold and silver on paper.

Maharaja Surma Sen of Mandi (reigned 1781-1788) is seated on a white chevron carpet on a red and pink striped rug, smoking a hookah and admiring his youthful companion up close. The large silver bell-shaped hookah is placed on a red circular mat on the floor beside Surma Sen. In one hand he holds the monal (hookah mouthpiece) to his lips with the padded end of the hookah coil.

With the other, he tenderly caresses the face of the young man seated in front of him. The youth in turn gazes affectionately at the ruler through the coils of smoke that emanate languidly from the hookah. The attendant standing behind Surma Sen waves a chowrie (flywhisk).

The three figures are all dressed in white jamas, while the raja wears a green turban that contrasts with the white turbans with top knots worn by his attendants. Placed on the floor next to Surma Sen’s companion is a fan, traditionally used in the region and constructed of two layers of interwoven palm leaves affixed to a backing rod which forms the handle. Such fans can be seen in other Pahari paintings of the period.

Surma Sen was the son of Shamsher Sen (reigned 1727-1781) and grandson

of the great Mandi warrior Sidh Sen (reigned 1684-1727). He was considered frail and as ineffective as his eccentric father and completely unlike his powerful grandfather.

Shown here grasping the chin of a young prince or courtier, the suggestion of a dalliance seems plausible as the youth places both hands upon the raja’s knees. The unusual hairstyle of the attendant chowrie bearer is another sign that the young ruler followed his father’s preferences for an unconventional entourage.

A circa 1785 painting of Surma Sen and his attendant Nagatu “Worshipping the Goddess” is in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This painting is illustrated in Gerald James Larson, Pratapaditya Pal and Rebecca P. Gowen, In Her Image: The Great Goddess in Indian Asia and The Madonna in Christian Culture, 1980, p. 59, no. 24 (M.79.66). Perhaps the handsome young man depicted in the present painting may also be identified as Nagatu. The two favourites are very similar in appearance.

According to W. G. Archer, Surma Sen was the son of Shamsher Sen by his Katoch rani, the daughter of Mian Alam Katoch of Jaisinghpur, Kangra.1 When Surma Sen’s life was threatened by his uncle, Dhurchatia, the powerful wazir and half-brother of Shamsher Sen, Surma Sen fled with his Brahmin tutor and companion, Bairagi Ram, to Nadaun in Kangra.2 In 1774 he returned to Mandi with Kangra assistance to expel Dhurchatia.

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As a result of receiving aid from Kangra, in 1778 Surma Sen agreed to an alliance between Mandi, Kangra and Chamba to attack Kulu.

His half-hearted attack on Kulu was repulsed and in the end Chamba acted alone.3 Surma Sen succeeded to the Mandi throne in 1781. He acknowledged Kangra supremacy and Mandi began paying tribute to Kangra in 1786.

According to Moorcroft, Surma Sen was notorious for his timidity and “used to be so much alarmed at the discharge of a gun that firing was prohibited at Mundee on penalty.” 4 However, he was regarded as a very fine horseman.

Shamsher Sen and Surma Sen are depicted together in a Shamsher Sen period painting of circa 1775, now in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Another double portrait of the two rulers is in the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida (PA-69-29).

Provenance: Acquired from Navin Kumar, 1984 The Paul F. Walter Collection

References: 1. W. G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, 1973, vol. I, p. 348.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid., Archer quotes Moorcroft, Journal, MSS. Eur. D.242, f. 81v. According to Moorcroft, this timid character was inherited by Surma Sen’s son, Isvari Sen.

48 ALA-UD-DIN AND MAHIMA HUNTING

INDIA (MANDI), CIRCA 1810 HEIGHT: 19 CM WIDTH: 27.7 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

An illustration to a Hamir Hath series.

This famous scene from the Hindi ballad the Hamir Hath (The Obstinacy of Hamir), is cast in a framework created by the walled enclosure in which Ala-ud-din Khilji, the Sultan of Delhi, is hunting deer with a group of princesses on horseback.

His queen, Murhathi, has ventured outside the corral wall in pursuit of deer.

She is seen again to the lower right in a passionate embrace with her lover, the Mongol soldier Mahima, who with cool assurance shoots the tiger that interrupts the couple’s lovemaking. Murhathi will recall this image of the dashing Mahima with sarcastic mirth when she sees Ala-ud-din shoot a rat in a later episode.

The large rat, resembling a rabbit in size and appearance, can be seen to the left.

Although widely known, the Hamir Hath does not seem to have been illustrated before 1800. Suddenly, by around 1810, at least five known series were produced at Guler and Mandi. The story involves the siege and catastrophic downfall of a ruler, the heroic but arrogant and obdurate Hamir, the Chauhan prince of Ranthambor, a vast fortress surrounded by dizzy precipices not unlike Kangra Fort. Hamir was besieged and Ranthambor taken by Ala-ud-din in 1301. His tale has striking parallels with the despotic Sansar Chand of Kangra, a tyrant who dominated the Kangra valley until the Gurkha invasion of 1805. His entrapment in Kangra Fort spelled the end of his reign of terror. The Hamir Hath would therefore have appealed to the oppressed Guler and Mandi rulers as an allegory of Sansar Chand’s demise.

Raja Isvari Sen of Mandi was taken hostage by Sansar Chand in 1792 and released in 1806 upon Sansar Chand’s defeat. It is significant that Mahima bears a resemblance to Isvari Sen in both the present painting and in the Hamir Hath series of 1810 by Sajnu.

49 R A J A B A G H S I N G H O F A O R WA R A S H O O T I N G W I L D B O A R

INDIA (JODHPUR), CIRCA 1830 HEIGHT: 26 CM WIDTH: 33.3 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold and silver on paper.

Inscribed on the reverse in devanagari: raje shri bagh sighji // mohai batta sighotai // khanp jodha: thikano auravarai “Raja Bagh Singhji, son of Moha B(h)att Singh, of the Jodha clan [and] Aorwara thikana”. 1 In this charming picture, Raja Bagh Singh, a minor raja from the Marwar thikana (fiefdom) of Aorwara, is shown shooting wild boar in a rocky landscape dotted with scrub vegetation. Low lying trees and shrubs, with stylised triangular shapes and variegated leaves, form attractive patterns against horizontal lines of craggy rocks, dry sands and spiky tufts of grass. The elements of the landscape combine to generate a terrific visual rhythm, at once bracing yet hypnotic.

The gentle curve of the horizon in the distance is marked by a cusped line of trees, echoed by low-lying clouds that hang pendant, theatrically enclosing a strip of sky above and a white marble palace of dollhouse proportions. A silvery pond on the side and a stream in the foreground offer sporadic refreshment to the sparse landscape, so characteristic of the Rajasthani hinterland that borders the desert sands. Hidden in the scrub are diminutive birds and hare, tiny deer and a very small tiger.

ornately decorated and painted powder horn, which holds the charge powder for his musket. He kneels down to shoot, taking steady aim at the boar which has stopped to drink at the pond on the opposite side of the picture. Bagh Singh has injured the boar on the forehead, though not yet killed it completely.

It now staggers on the edge of the pond, about to collapse into the water with a bent knee. A second boar hides behind an outcrop of rocks.

Two retainers stand behind the raja, one with a second gun at the ready.

Two grooms on the horizon stand guard with the raja’s horse. One of the grooms tries to soothe the agitated horse by tugging gently at the reins and staring calmly at the horse, which has been excited by the sound of gunshots. The horse rears and backs into the border of the painting. The two grooms facing in opposite directions echo the two boars doing the same.

According to M. A. Sherring in The tribes and castes of Rajasthan, 1881, pp. 29-31, the Jodha sub-clan of the Rathor Rajputs traces its descent from Jodha, the founder of Jodhpur state. Aorwara was a thikana chieftainship in Banswara district, south-east of Udaipur, held by members of the Mairtia branch of the Jodha clan.2 Provenance: The Stuart Cary Welch Collection Acquired by Maggs Bros. Ltd., London, on Tuesday, 12th December 1972 from the auction at Sotheby’s, New Bond Street, London, of Fine Indian and Persian Miniatures and a Manuscript: The Property of Cary Welch, 1972, lot 136.

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Andrew Topsfield

Bagh Singh wears a green robe tied with a vermilion patka (sash), lavender riding boots, and a red and white chevron turban tied with a gold chevron headband, capped by a feathered aigrette (sarpech).

Suspended from his patka are a sword in a velvet scabbard and an

for his expert advice and kind reading of the inscription.

References: 1. Topsfield observes that the name of Raja Bagh Singh literally means “King Tiger Lion”.

2. M. A. Sherring, The tribes and castes of Rajasthan, 1881, p. 30.

50 MAHARAJA MAN SINGH AND HIS CONSORT RIDING A CAMEL

INDIA (JODHPUR), CIRCA 1830 HEIGHT: 31 CM WIDTH: 25.4 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

Inscribed on the reverse in devanagari: dola marwan “Dhola Maru” Maharaja Man Singh of Jodhpur (reigned 1803-1843) is shown holding the reins of a camel and a flowering branch, riding next to a lady holding a delicate wine cup

and a long-necked vessel (surahi).

They are both splendidly dressed in finely embellished garments, displaying a riot of contrasting patterns that wildly clash yet harmoniously blend, while the vigorously galloping camel is richly caparisoned with a magnificent saddlecloth and large swinging tassels, composed of colourful tiers of floral pompoms. As they speed through the desert sands, Man Singh turns to look back at the lady and they gaze tenderly into each other’s eyes. The dramatic setting is a high sand dune dotted with clumps of grass to the foreground, with a small lake and folds of low scrub in the background under a sky of pendant spiral clouds.

The composition, which was extremely popular with Marwar artists, is based on depictions of the story of Dhola and Maru, famous Rajasthani lovers who elope on camelback. The Dhola Marwan or Dhola Maru is very well-known in Rajasthan and tells of two lovers,

betrothed in childhood, who grow up and, betraying their vows, marry other people. Eventually, after many vicissitudes, they meet up again and elope together.1 The ballad was composed by the poet Kallol in 1620 during the reign of Raval Hariraj of Jaisalmer, a desert state adjacent to Jodhpur.

According to Rosemary Crill, the Dhola Maru story has been illustrated countless times. Most frequently it is epitomised by the scene of the lovers fleeing their pursuers on their faithful camel, a theme which often occurs as a single painting rather than part of a series, or as an illustration to the musical mode Maru Ragini.2 The figures of Man Singh and his consort in the present miniature are based on the traditional Dhola Maru composition, with the lovers looking into each other’s eyes.

A painting of Man Singh riding with a large assembly of female guards from the zenana, all on camels with huge trailing tassels, is illustrated in Rosemary Crill, Marwar Painting: A History of the Jodhpur Style, 2000, p. 136, fig. 109. Crill observes that hunting expeditions were often performed in the company of ladies of the zenana.

Crill illustrates on p. 163, fig. 136, a painting from the Dhola Marwan depicting the scene of Dhola and Maru escaping on their camel.

Though this is a single composition, it has been inserted into an extensive Dhola Marwan series comprising 121 miniatures painted during the reign of Man Singh and now housed with the collections of the Mehrangarh Museum Trust at the Umaid Bhavan

Palace and Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur. This stray composition is different in format to the others in the set, with no space for the text on top and no red borders.3 Another painting of Dhola and Maru riding their favourite camel in the Maharajah of Jodhpur Collection in the Palace Library, Jodhpur, is illustrated in Mohinder Singh Randhawa and John Kenneth Galbraith, Indian Painting: The Scene, Themes and Legends, 1968, p. 97, pl. 18. This painting shows the camel racing towards the right rather than the left but otherwise all other elements of the composition are essentially the same.

A painting with the camel facing left, as in our picture, was formerly in the Doris Wiener Collection, New York.

The Dhola Marwan story is recounted with great relish by Randhawa and Galbraith on pp.

94-96 of their book. Though there are many different versions of the love story that have come down to us, the version they give is taken from the pamphlet by Bisheshwar Nath Reu published by the Palace Library in Jodhpur in 1924, describing the paintings of the series in the Maharaja’s collection.

The story is also given in K. R. Qanungo, Studies in Rajput History, 1960, p. 24.

References: 1. Rosemary Crill, Marwar Painting: A History of the Jodhpur Style, 2000, p. 163.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

51 M A H A R AWA L A K H I S I N G H I N D U R B A R

INDIA (JAISALMER), 1730-1740 HEIGHT: 29.2 CM WIDTH: 40.8 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold and silver on paper.

Inscribed in gold on the green ground of the painting with the names of Akhi Singh and his courtiers, and with the name of the painter Mangal Chateran to the bottom against the white ground of the terrace floor.

Maharawal, or as inscribed here, Maharaja Akhi Singh of Jaisalmer (reigned 1722-1762) is seated against a lavender cushion on a cusped silver throne, under a canopy on a white marble terrace divided from the green backdrop by a low marble

balustrade. Streaks of gold from the setting sun mark the high horizon of the lawn, with a darkening blue sky above. Akhi Singh’s haughty and impressive profile, with a wide sweeping sideburn neatly segueing into his moustache, is framed by a gold nimbus.

Tucked into Akhi Singh’s patka (sash) is a spectacular gold and gem-set katar (thrust-dagger) in a jewelled scabbard and chape. The katar has an unusual hilt where the uprights meet not at the usual angled guard but instead twist and intertwine, the interstices ornamented by a gold floral pommel. He fondles the hilt of this great weapon with his right hand while he listens to the discussions of the durbar, his other hand resting on a black shield.

Written above his profile just under the canopy is: maha raja akh [or ashk] syangh-ji Seated before him are two noblemen:

bhathi keso syangh-ji sodi [or] sori thakur As the epithet Bhatti is the name of the ruling family of Jaisalmer, Bhatti Keso Singh, seated immediately in front of Akhi Singh, may be a close relation. Thakur Sodi is the ruler of a local thikana fiefdom.

Judging by their earnest expressions and animated gestures, we gather they are discussing matters of state or political affairs of some importance. All the figures are simply dressed in crisp white jamas and wear tall turbans similar to the fashion of neighbouring Jodhpur.

The figure standing behind Akhi Singh waving a morchal (peacock feather fan) is: darbari kutale He is the dhabhai or bodyguard to the gaddi (throne).

Seated on the left wearing a red turban and fingering a rosary of beads is mah(a) tokat [or takhat] chand, another thakur. The name of the figure in the white turban on the extreme left cannot be read as it is obscured due to damage.

The name of the artist below the throne is partly missing but seems to say:

since the painting is not a likeness of the artist, “vai” or “kai” is probably part of a word indicating that Chateran has made the likeness.

The beginning of his name is missing, along with the latter half of the letter k or v; Mangal is probably the second part of his name. The last word would normally be “chatara” with a long final a but it has a dot indicating the nasal ending after the inherent short vowel.

Maharawal Akhi (or Aksay) Singh succeeded his elder brother Budh Singh in 1722 after a turbulent interim period. Budh Singh had ruled from 1710 to 1720 after the death of their grandfather Jaswant Singh. After the death of Budh Singh in 1720, his uncle Tej Singh usurped the throne and the prince had to flee to Delhi. In 1722, Tej Singh was mortally wounded by Hari Singh, brother of Jaswant Singh and one of the chiefs of Jaisalmer in Mughal service in the Sind.

Tej Singh was succeeded by his infant son Sawai Singh, but Akhi Singh stormed the castle with his supporters, put the three year old king to death, and regained his rights. Akhi Singh then ruled for forty years until 1762 when he was succeeded by his son Maharawal Mulraj Singh II.1

Acknowledgement:

sabi vai [or] kai... mangal chateran

We would like to thank Robert Skelton for his expert advice and kind reading of the

“This likeness was made

by Chateran (or Chitera)”

inscriptions on this painting.

Reference:

According to Robert Skelton who kindly read the inscriptions,

1. R. V. Sonami, History of Jaisalmer, 1990, pp. 70-71.

52 MAHARAJA BHIM SINGH IN DURBAR

INDIA (JODHPUR), DATED 1802 HEIGHT: 32.2 CM WIDTH: 39.8 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

Maharaja Bhim Singh of Jodhpur (reigned 1794-1803) is shown seated in durbar under a canopy, on a magnificent gold throne with lions standing at the end of the arm rests, flanked by courtiers and noblemen.

He rests his left hand on the jewelled hilt of his long sword while his right hand steadies his black shield with gold crescents and bosses.

The painting is inscribed in devanagari on both the reverse and front of the painting. The inscriptions identify the Maharajah and his courtiers and give the name of the artist, Bhatti, and the date of the painting, 1802.

The long inscription on the reverse reads: Rajarajeshvaramaharajadhirajamahar ajaji sri Bhiv [ie Bhim] Singhi ri sabi ki vi chitara Bhati Ashari mukamagat Jodhpur s.1859 ra asoj suda 8 The inscription gives the grandiose titles of Maharaja Bhim Singh and tells us that his portrait (sabi) is by the painter (chitara) Bhati Ashari, resident (mukamagat) of Jodhpur.

It is dated to the bright half (suda) of the month of Asoj in Samvat 1859/1802 AD. The inscriptions on the left, below the long inscription, read from top to bottom: Dhandhal Alsi Das Khichi Himato Gehlot Prithi Raj Sankhlo mu kano ….

These are the names of the four courtiers standing behind Bhim Singh on the right of the painting.

Dhandhal, Khichi and Gehlot are ranks of office so these are titles preceding their names. Dhandhals hold the chowrie (flywhisk) and peacock feather fan (morchal) over the ruler; Khichis hold the ruler’s sword and shield and Gehlots hold the royal insignia. Here the Gehlot Prithi Raj holds a fan and a seal.

Khichis and Gehlots are also the ruler’s body guards.1 The last line is not so clear and may be read as Sankhlo nu kano meaning “next to Sankhlo” or Sankhlo muk no meaning “facing Sankhlo”. This makes sense as the man on the other side standing in front of Bhim Singh is identified by the inscription on the right of the reverse as: Dhabhai Sankhlo Sibhudan Dhabhai means body guard to the throne (gaddi) and in this case the Dhabhai is named Sankhlo Sibhudan, seen here in animated discussion with Bhim Singh as evident from their hand gestures and direct eye contact. The fourth figure standing behind Bhim Singh is therefore not named but simply identified as the figure “standing opposite Sankhlo”.

The inscriptions written in the red borders on the front of the painting correspond to the ones on the reverse, with the names of Bhim Singh to the top, the courtiers along the sides, and the long inscription at the bottom reading: kalam bhati ashari mukamagat jodh das sam 1859 mi asojaisuda 8 “Painted by Bhatti Ashari resident of Jodhpur in the bright half of the month of Asoj in Samvat 1859”.

The Bhatti epithet indicates he is a Rajput from Jaisalmer.

According to Rosemary Crill, the name of

Bhatti is the clan name of the ruling house of Jaislamer, but also refers to an artisan community originally from Jaisalmer that settled around Jodhpur. The families of Jodhpur artists with the Bhatti epithet probably came from such an artisan community.2 Crill notes that the name Bhatti Ashari, or possibly Akhari, is unusual.

while he holds a sword with the other”. Despite Bhim Singh’s chilling ambition and murderous tendencies, Tod describes him, with obvious admiration, as “a man of great personal and mental qualifications; a gallant soldier and no mean poet”. 5

Acknowledgements:

Maharaja Bhim Singh was born in 1766. When his grandfather Bijay Singh died in 1793, in the midst of a rebellion against him and his influential mistress, Bhim Singh rushed to usurp the throne in place of Bijay Singh’s eldest son, Zalam Singh.3 Bhim Singh had strong support from the nobles and Zalam was exiled to Udaipur. In order to secure his place on the throne, Bhim Singh ordered the murders of two uncles, Sher Singh and Sardar Singh who had stronger claims to power, and also his cousin Sur Singh, who had been a favourite of Bijay Singh.

The only remaining contender still alive was Man Singh, who took refuge in Jahor Fort.4 Crill illustrates an imposing standing portrait of Bhim Singh now at the British Museum in Marwar Painting: A History of the Jodhpur Style, 2000, p. 109, fig. 85. This shows “the ruthless monarch benignly sniffing a rose with one hand

We would like to thank Rosemary Crill for her expert advice and Robert del Bonta for his kind reading of the inscriptions.

References: 1. See R. P. Kathuria, Life in the courts of Rajasthan in the 18th century, 1987, p. 121.

2. Rosemary Crill, Marwar Painting: A History of the Jodhpur Style, 2000, p. 145.

3. Ibid., p. 109.

4. Ibid.

5. James Tod, Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, edited by William Crooke, 1920, vol. II, p. 1077.

53 NINE SOLDIERS MARCHING

INDIA (BILASPUR), CIRCA 1700 HEIGHT: 20.5 CM WIDTH: 31.5 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

An illustration from a Madhavanala Kamakandala series.

The Madhavanala Kamakandala is a romantic tale in verse from Rajasthan, written in 1527 by Ganapati Kayastha of Amod, Gujarat. It tells the story of Madhava, the handsome singer, and Kamakandala, the beautiful courtesan, and the part played by the king of Ujjain, Vikramaditya, in facilitating their happy union after a series of adventures. As a boy, Madhava lives in the palace of Govindachandra in Pushpavati. He is a youth of such intelligence and irresistible charms that all the women of the city are in love with him. Receiving numerous complaints, the king banishes Madhava. He journeys through many lands but so enchants the women that furious kings and queens continue to banish him.

In Kamasena, Madhava falls in love with the accomplished Kamakandala, deeply impressed by her continuing dance performance despite being stung on her breast by a bee. He gives her a betel leaf as a token of his love.

The leaf is in fact a gift to him from the king who, offended, orders his immediate expulsion. Kamakandala becomes a lovesick recluse.

At Ujjain, Madhava writes letters to Kamakandala and scribbles gathas (verses) describing the distress of his love on the walls of the Mahakala temple. The verses so move King Vikram that he sets out with his army to recover Kamakandala from Kamasena. It is King Vikram’s army that we see marching in this miniature. Vikram tests the lovers by telling each that the other is dead, upon which they swoon and die, but a vetala (sprite) revives them and they live happily ever after.

54 V I S H N U W I T H S A R A S VAT I

INDIA (BILASPUR), 1700-1720 HEIGHT: 21.5 CM WIDTH: 15.3 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold and silver on paper.

A page from a dispersed album with a Ragamala series and illustrations of the avatars of Vishnu and other deities.

Numbered “2434” within a Mandi library cartouche and “8” above.

Several paintings in this album depict the avatars (incarnations) of Vishnu. This elegant picture depicts Vishnu himself, wearing a gold crown and shown four-armed with his attributes: the conch (shankha), symbol of the five existential elements; the mace (gada), symbol of knowledge and power; the lotus (padma), symbol of the powers of illusion from which the universe originates, and the impulse towards liberation; and the discus (chakra), symbol of the speed of thought.1 He is seated with Sarasvati, the goddess of music and learning, leaning against a cushion under a beautiful flowering tree. Sarasvati plays the vina, which is her symbol.

The magnificent floor spread on which they are seated is decorated with grand lotus arabesques against a swirling blue-green ground that serves as a reminder of Vishnu’s usual depiction, floating on the cosmic lotus-strewn ocean, reclining on the coils of the serpent Ananta.

The various artists of this album are often immensely playful. Here the

painter has envisaged Vishnu as a royal figure being amused by a musician, with only the watery patterns of the carpet, apart from his colour and four arms, to remind the viewer of his real status.

to the Pahari system of musical modes. Though clearly the product of a single studio in the Punjab Hills, they are nonetheless probably the work of artists trained in more than one tradition.

Vishnu’s wives are Lakshmi and Bhudevi. Occasionally, especially in eastern Indian, Sarasvati, the wife of Brahma, takes the place of Bhudevi.2 Sarasvati is the goddess of speech and learning, the patroness of the arts, and the inventor of Sanskrit.

She is equally revered by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains and regularly worshipped in libraries, schools and educational institutions.3

The style of painting dates from the beginning of the eighteenth century and would appear to be closest in style to Bilaspur painting, which was one of the few Pahari states to produce vertical Ragamalas at this date. The series can also be related to earlier Ragamala paintings assigned to Bilaspur on the grounds of style and by comparison with paintings of known Bilaspur provenance. Three Ragamala paintings in the Edwin Binney, 3rd Collection, dating to circa 1680-1690, are published in W. G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, 1973, vol. I, p. 231, Kahlur (Bilaspur) 8(i-iii); vol. II, p. 172, pls. 8(i-iii).

Along with the vina, symbolising music, Sarasvati’s other attributes are a book, representing learning, and a lotus flower. Her mount is either the hamsa or the peacock, and occasionally the parrot.4 These additional attributes are not depicted in this painting. Her other names are Vach (Speech), Vagdevi or Vagishvari (Goddess of Speech).5 Like Vishnu, Sarasvati is generally represented with four arms. Here she does not compete with Vishnu but is portrayed more modestly as an attendant court musician. A signifier that she is his consort and not just a courtier is the way their gazes meet directly, establishing a powerful connection.

In a recent publication by Catherine Glynn, Robert Skelton and Anna L. Dallapiccola, Ragamala Paintings from India: From the Claudio Moscatelli Collection, 2011, pp. 34-36, Catherine Glynn has suggested a reattribution of the series to Chamba.

Provenance: Mandi Royal Collection Private German Collection

This painting is from a dispersed album, which was once in the Mandi royal collection. Most of the paintings in this album are of Hindu and Rajput subjects such as avatars or manifestations of Vishnu and other deities, as well as Ragas, Raginis and Ragaputras belonging

114

References: 1. Anna L. Dallapiccola, Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend, 2002, p. 203.

2. Ibid., pp. 170 and 203.

3. Ibid., p. 170.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

55 K H O K H A R A S O N O F M A L KO S R AG A

INDIA (BILASPUR), 1700-1720 HEIGHT: 21.5 CM WIDTH: 14.7 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold and silver on paper.

A page from a Ragamala series.

Inscribed on the reverse to the top with a line of takri: // ? // raga khaukhara // ? // mal // Inscribed below this with a second line of takri: raga khaukhara malakauseda putra

of a pole secured to the ground by four ropes tethered around tent pegs. Hanging from the horizontal bar across the top of the pole are two anchor-shaped hooks, perhaps for hanging props and ropes for more acrobatic stunts. Dancing on the ground below are two older men, one with a beard and sarpech tucked into his headband who looks up at the boy giving encouragement, the other beating a gong with a stick.

Both the men have the powerful build of wrestlers or gymnasts and one can easily imagine the boy doing hand stands on their shoulders or being tossed into spectacular somersaults.

Further inscribed in devanagari: raga khaunkhara malakausheda putra “Khaukhar Raga, son of Malkos”.

Numbered “2527” within a Mandi library cartouche and “95” written above.

In this splendidly vigorous picture, a young man has climbed to the top

The acrobats are all dressed in short drawers with supportive scarves round their middles, suggesting the strenuousness of their athleticism. They have shaven heads apart from their curling side locks and have tied cloths around their heads, probably to prevent the sweat

from dripping into their eyes. The bold stance of the dancers, with bent knees and raised arms, and their scarves flying in every direction, convey the dizzy excitement and thumping rhythms as they pound the ground and twirl around.

To the front, a little old man with a white beard beats a double-ended drum. He uses a stick on one side and his palm on the other, thus creating two types of sound in two different pitches, his drum beating in syncopation with the gong of the dancer.

Jerry Losty has observed how the vigour of the action is admirably caught by the vividly imaginative artist: the young man up the pole is really gripping it tightly with both hands and legs, while the two dancers are really leaping off the ground in their excitement.

Appropriately for a Ragamala painting, this is a picture we can hear as well as see.

Kshemakarna’s description of Khokhara, given in Klaus Ebeling, Ragamala Painting, 1973, p. 74, is “a man dancing happily, in loose fitting garments, to the music of clouds (thunder perhaps) and the beat of drums”. He compares the sound of the raga to that of a parrot. In keeping with the Pahari tradition, the artist here has ignored the parrot and based his iconography on that of Desakhya Ragaputra which also features acrobats with great athletic prowess.

On p. 296, Ebeling illustrates a similar painting in the Bharat Kala Bhavan, Banaras, of “semi-nude acrobats engaged in various physical exercises, with a central figure of a woman climbing a pole”.

According to Losty, the gongs in these Pahari paintings may suggest the sound of the thunder that accompanies the sound of drums in Kshemakarna’s system.

Provenance: Mandi Royal Collection Private German Collection

56 KUMBHA RAGA

INDIA (BILASPUR), 1700-1720 HEIGHT: 21.5 CM WIDTH: 14 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold and silver on paper.

A page from a Ragamala series.

Inscribed on the reverse to the top with two lines of takri: 5// rag…bhir//4//sri rag kumbh sri rageda putar Inscribed below the takri with a line of devanagari: Rag kumbhir shri rageda putra “Kumbha Raga son of Sri Raga”.

Numbered “2499” within a Mandi library cartouche with the number “43” above.

This charming painting depicts an elaborate irrigation system, driven by a pair of bullocks, by which water is drawn up from a deep well using a turning wheel of water pots and channelled into a beautiful garden with staggered rectangular flower beds. The two bullocks, one white and the other brown to differentiate them by colour, walk endlessly in a circle. The yoke placed across their backs is linked via a pole, on which their driver sits, to a vertical pole on which is mounted a horizontal cogged wheel. As this wheel turns, its teeth are linked to a vertical wheel that is linked via the large wooden spindle on the ground to another wheel mounted above the well that sends the pitchers up and down in an endless loop. Like the bullocks, the two cogged wheels are also differentiated by colour, part of the hypnotic visual rhythms of the painting whereby repetitions and variations generate a subtle musical syncopation.

The full pots empty into a channel on the top edge of the garden from which the water runs through and waters the flower beds below. The bullocks have to step over the spindle twice as they go round, and this is the moment the artist has depicted.

The bullocks have baulked at stepping over it and the driver is flourishing his whip with a view to driving them on. The mood is serene and meditative through the repetition of the many patterns and actions required and the smile on the faces of the bullocks show that they do not find their labour too arduous.

A delightful detail is the way the artist has conveyed the depth of the well by depicting it as a tower of staggered brickwork which appears to shoot out of the ground.

the Collection of the Berlin Museum of Indian Art, Part 1: Ragamala Pictures from the Western Himalayan Promontory, 1967, fig. 30. It is also the iconography of a Kangra Kumbha Raga illustrated in M. S. Randhawa, Kangra Ragamala Paintings, 1971, pp. 58-59, pl. XVII. According to Randhawa, the Kangra painting reminds one of a folk song from the Kangra valley in which the accidental meeting of a husband and wife at a well is described. The husband who is a soldier has been away in service for years and when he returns, stopping by the well on the way to fetch his wife, she does not recognise him and rebukes him for his advances. Randhawa tells us that kumbha means a pitcher of water.

This painting comes from a large dispersed Pahari album of Ragamala paintings that also includes depictions of the avatars of Vishnu. Kumbha Raga is very rare in any Ragamala system. In Kshemakarna’s system, on which the Pahari system is loosely based, verse 100 of the text describes the personality of Kumbha as “a man in a white garment and a crown, with a golden pot, fanned by chowries” and compares the music to “the sound of water streaming from a jug”. Pahari artists devised their own iconographies for Kshemakarna’s verses, modifying his interpretations and incorporating word play in the ragas themselves.

The Ragamala series from which this picture comes is usually ascribed to Bilaspur but recently Catherine Glynn has proposed a reattribution to Chamba, in Catherine Glynn, Robert Skelton and Anna L. Dallapiccola, Ragamala Paintings from India: From the Claudio Moscatelli Collection, 2011, pp. 34-36.

Glynn has also kindly shared with us her pioneering research on colour patterning in this Ragamala series which she will soon be publishing.

According to Glynn, the borders are all red, but the backgrounds do vary according to family. Thus the images of the gods, such as Vishnu and Sarasvati, cat. no. 54 in the present catalogue, have white backgrounds; Khokhara Raga, cat. no. 55, has an ash background and fits into the Malkos family; while the present Kumbha belongs to Sri with the acid green background.

In this scene, the painter has ignored the personality of Kumbha and interpreted the sound of water flowing from a jug brilliantly. This depiction is very different from that of other Pahari Kumbha illustrations, whereby the iconography as described in Klaus Ebeling, Ragamala Painting, 1973, p. 288, is “a passing gentleman receiving a drink from a woman at a well”. This is seen in the Pahari Ragamala illustrated in Ernst and Rose Leonore Waldschmidt, Miniatures of Musical Inspiration in

118

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Catherine Glynn for her expert advice.

Provenance: Mandi Royal Collection Private German Collection

57 AN ENCOUNTER IN A GARDEN

INDIA (GULER), 1760-1770 FOLIO: HEIGHT: 27.5 CM WIDTH: 19.5 CM MINIATURE: HEIGHT: 21.5 CM WIDTH: 15.2 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

In this exquisite painting, a woman carrying a basket on her head stands watching a young man who sits operating a Persian wheel from his seat on the contraption. He is guiding a pair of oxen to walk round and round in a circle thereby working the shafts and wheels which draw up water from a well to irrigate the flower garden. In the foreground, a gardener holding a mattock over his shoulder stands on a path in the midst of the rectangular flower beds containing orange poppies and other white and lavender flowers.

Dominating the left half of the composition is a large sal tree with its light green leaves, each leaf separately depicted. At the rear is a row of dark trees laden with creepers in full flower, the profuse blossoms alternately pink and white. According to Jerry Losty, this method of showing trees is something of a Guler trademark and can be seen in Guler paintings illustrated in W. G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, 1973, vol. I, pp. 158, 159 and 162, Guler nos. 42, 44 and 54; vol. II, pp. 110 and 114, pls. 42, 44 and 54.

The Guler painting illustrated by Archer on p. 110, pl. 44 of vol. II, is

an almost identical version of this painting, which is now at the British Museum in London. Archer remarks in vol. I, p. 159, that the structure of the British Museum painting “involves a total rejection of depth, perspective and recession and is strongly affirmative of the Guler principles of composition in terms of angular geometry and single flat planes”.

Archer also draws attention to the composition being similar to the romantic first encounter of Krishna and Radha in a bucolic “meeting of the eyes”, the girl with the basket being substituted for the two gopis (cow-girls) and the youth on the Persian wheel for Krishna. Losty observes that though the young man is depicted smaller and meant to be further away, their eyes are level when viewed in two dimensions across the picture plane. In support of this romantic interpretation is a pair of Sarus cranes, symbols of love, that swoop and dive in the sky above. Another symbol of love is the entwining of the creepers and the trees, so close as to meld into one.

At the same time, the painting is also a rare depiction of daily life in the Punjab hills as lived by the villagers as opposed to the ruling elite and the religious and poetical texts they favoured for illustration. Like the British Museum painting described

by Archer, our picture is “executed with elegant delicacy, supple grace and innocent nobility”.

shows how the iconography of the song relates to a Kangra illustration of Kumbha Raga: “The village well is a meeting place of lovers…[and] reminds one of the folk song from Kangra in which the accidental meeting of a husband and wife at a well is described. The soldier, after his marriage to a young girl, had been away on service for many years. On his return he pays a visit to his father-in-law’s village to fetch his wife. He meets a young woman at a well and asks her for a draught of water. When he tries to be intimate and pays compliments to her beauty, she feels annoyed and severely rebukes him. When she returns home, her mother asks her to put on her ornaments and her best clothes, for her husband had come.

She dresses up and goes to meet him and discovers that he was the same person who met her at the well. He reminds her of the harsh words she spoke to him at the well.

A reconciliation follows and they live happily ever afterwards as husband and wife”.

Provenance: The Carter Burden Collection, New York Private English Collection

Published: Sotheby’s, The Carter Burden Collection of Indian Paintings, New York, 27th March 1991, lot 52.

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Jerry Losty for his

The painting also resonates with a famous love story told in a folk song from the Kangra valley. This is recounted by M. S. Randhawa in Kangra Ragamala Paintings, 1971, pp. 58-59, pl. XVII, where Randhawa

121

expert advice on both this Guler painting as well as the related depiction of the flower garden in the previous miniature of Kumbha Raga. The close iconography of the two paintings make a striking juxtaposition and fascinating comparison.

58 M A R K A N D E YA R E F E R S J A I M U N I T O T H E F O U R W I S E B I R D S

INDIA (GULER), 1800-1820 HEIGHT: 26.6 CM WIDTH: 31.6 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

An illustration to a Markandeya Purana series.

Inscribed on an attached sheet with the folio number “2” and two lines of Sanskrit verse from the opening canto of the Markandeya Purana.

The idyllic setting in which the sages Markandeya and Jaimuni are seated in conversation is the grassy bank of a lotus pond, surrounded by trees and delicately flowering plants against the backdrop of a golden yellow sunset. The elder sage with white hair and beard, seated on a circular platform below a canopy of leaves, is Markandeya, a devotee of Vishnu, who is revealed in the third part of the Purana (ancient story) that bears his name to be the chief narrator and teacher amongst the many narrators in this compendium of legends and tales. The Devi Mahatmya is an eighth century interpolation embedded as the fourth part of the Markandeya Purana, which dates to the ninth or tenth century.1 Jaimuni, a disciple of Vyasa, the mythical author of the Mahabharata, is the youthful figure with black hair and beard seated on a straw mat, his hands held in a gesture of supplication as he leans forward

eagerly with an earnest expression on his face, to receive instruction from Markandeya. Jaimuni has approached Markandeya in order to attain full knowledge of the Mahabharata, and has asked the elder sage four questions regarding difficulties that have perplexed him in the great epic.

It is the opening lines of Markandeya’s reply, beginning with “Markandeya speaks”, that are summarised by the verses on the sheet attached to the painting, the second illustration from this series.

Markandeya says that as he is engaged in the rites of evening worship, he does not have the time for a long discourse to elucidate these complex problems in detail.

He refers Jaimuni to the four wise birds that can not only narrate the entire content of the Mahabharata, but also explain to him the four questions that perplex him and remove all his doubts. The birds are the peacock and cranes seen in this miniature.

The learned birds, who dwell in caves in the Vindhya Mountains, are the sons of Drona, the greatest of birds, and the apsara (celestial nymph) Vapu. They are Pingaksha, Vibodha, Supatra and Sumakha, Brahman brothers in transmigration.

Their mother Vapu was condemned by the muni Duravasa to become a bird, for deliberately breaking his penance as part of a vain contest of beauty and seductive power between the apsaras, enticing him with her sweet voice and alluring song. Jaimuni is surprised but

delighted to hear of birds that can not only speak like humans, but have mastered the complex knowledge of the Vedas. The answers given by the birds to Jaimuni’s cryptic questions constitute the first part of the Markandeya Purana.2 The mood of the painting is quiet and still, but lyrical and intense, capturing the atmosphere of peace and meditative concentration at the secluded retreat. Such moments of affecting quietness are interspersed throughout the narrative thrust of the Markandeya Purana, and similar idyllic scenes, illustrating the ashrams and hermitages of sages and their disciples, can be seen in published paintings from related Markandeya Purana series.

Czuma, Indian Art from the George P. Bickford Collection, 1975, no. 109.

Two paintings from the same Guler series as the present painting, depicting Kali in battle, are published in W.G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, 1973, vol. I, p. 164, Guler nos. 61(i) and 61(ii); vol. II, p. 117, pl. 61(ii). In his discussion, Archer notes six further leaves from the same or similar series, including one in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and one in the Edwin Binney, 3rd Collection.

Provenance: F. H. North, November 1962 The William and Mildred Archer Collection

References:

Two illustrations of sages in conversation, from a Pahari Devi Mahatmya series dated 1781, in the Chandigarh Museum, Chandigarh, are published in B. N. Goswamy, Essence of Indian Art, 1986, pp.

266-267, nos. 267 and 268.

1. According to legend, Markandeya had begged Vishnu to rescue him from the primordial waters. Vishnu, in the form of a child floating on a vata (fig) leaf, swallowed Markandeya and showed him the whole world, the gods and the sages, all contained within him. In his youth, Markandeya was rescued from Yama’s hordes by Shiva.

The opening illustration of a Garhwal Markandeya Purana series of circa 1785 in the Archer Collection, depicting Jaimuni questioning Markandeya, is published in W. G. Archer, Visions of Courtly India: The Archer Collection of Pahari Miniatures, 1976, pp. 28-29, pl. 17.

2. The second part continues with the birds explaining further matters to Jaimuni.

In the third part, Jaimuni and the birds are the nominal speakers; the real speakers are Markandeya, who declares that this Purana has issued from the mouth of Brahma, and his disciple Kraustuki. As the birds recite his teachings, they retire from the text, but reappear with Jaimuni in the final canto to

A painting from a Chamba Markandeya Purana series of circa 1850, in a pronounced Garhwal style, formerly in the George P. Bickford Collection, is illustrated in Stanislaw

conclude their discourse.

Literature: F. Eden Partiger (trans.), The Markandeya Purana, 1964.

59 GIRL SMOKING A HOOKAH ON A TERRACE

INDIA (KANGRA), CIRCA 1780

foreground are flower beds and a fountain set into red sandstone that forms a warm contrast with the glistening white marble.

HEIGHT: 20.5 CM WIDTH: 11.6 CM

A similar composition from Guler, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, may have provided the model for our painting.

This is published in W. G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, 1973, vol. I, pp. 157-158, Guler 40; vol. II, p. 110, pl. 40. On account of the marked emphasis on cool pallor and the style of the lady’s hair, an alternative fashion developed in the late 1750s, which gained currency in the 1760s and 1770s, Archer dates the Guler painting to circa 1760.

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

A girl is seated on a gold and gem-set bathing platform on a white marble terrace, pensively smoking a hookah. She has completed her bath and is now enjoying a moment of quiet reflection, a diaphanous veil pulled over her shoulders and upper body. Lost in reverie, she holds between the hennaed finger tips of her left hand an emerald ring, no doubt given to her by an absent lover upon whose absence she wistfully meditates or whose return she anticipates.

The posture of the lady, with her right leg raised on the bathing platform, her left leg on the floor and her right hand toying with the monal, are identical to that of our bathing girl, as are the form of the hookah and the pattern traced by its coils. The Guler lady is however fully dressed, with a pale veil covering her hair and a brief transparent bodice around her breasts. She has thus no need of seclusion. In contrast to the delicate trees and exquisite blossoms that shade our bathing lady from view, the girl from Guler has for her backdrop a wide river with an open landscape with trees and buildings on the horizon. Her hair is also much neater than that of our bathing lady, whose still damp strands trailing carelessly down her back add to her wistful air.

In her right hand she holds the monal (mouthpiece) of the coiling hookah tube, her hand resting on her raised knee. The circular silver or white enamel hookah is placed on a hookah ring within a cusped silver basket. The hookah is lightly etched with floral sprays. Placed at her feet on the terrace are two small glass bottles in a dish, perhaps rosewater sprinklers (gulabpash), one coloured dark emerald green and the other a ruby red. On another dish is a delicate porcelain wine cup.

The scene is secluded by trees behind the low jali balustrade of the terrace, including a spear-shaped cypress and branches bearing two varieties of white blossoms. In the

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60 K R I S H N A S P I E S O N T H E B AT H I N G R A D H A

INDIA (KANGRA), 1820-1825

Enclosing Krishna’s balcony above are a cusped arch, a closely fretted jali screen and a velvet awning, all to ensure Radha’s privacy, now surreptitiously invaded by her ardent admirer.

HEIGHT: 18.3 CM WIDTH: 13 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

This painting was formerly in the collection of the great scholars William and Mildred Archer. It was exhibited in 1976 on a grand tour of the Archer Collection through ten museums in the United States.

Radha is seated on a wooden bathing platform, grasping her shoulders and lost in reverie. She is preparing for her bath and has taken off her veil, her hair trailing loose over her shoulders, but she still retains her clothes and all her abundant jewellery. A maid approaches from the left, bearing a towel and a dish while behind her a second maid screens Radha with a green cloth.

From a balcony above, Krishna, with the pale mauve skin typical of late Kangra painting, gently signals to the maid not to betray his voyeur-like presence. She looks up at him and smiles in complicity with his request.

For the moment, Radha is too absorbed in passionate thoughts to take off her clothes, yet her skirt and bodice are so pale and close in colour to her skin that she seems only a step away from nakedness. The huge bunch of pink roses, soaring from the small vase to the left, symbolise her mounting frenzy. When at last she steps out of her clothes and begins to bathe, Krishna will view, unseen, the physical charms that have made her his supreme love.

W. G. Archer observes in the exhibition catalogue, Visions of Courtly India: The Archer Collection of Pahari Miniatures, 1976, pp. 84-85, cat. no. 46, that although the painting is “late” in style and colouring, it retains the delight in feminine grace, which from Guler antecedents reached a climax in Kangra painting.

Provenance: The William and Mildred Archer Collection

Published: W. G. Archer, Visions of Courtly India: The Archer Collection of Pahari Miniatures, 1976, pp. 84-85, no. 46.

Exhibited in the touring exhibition of the Archer Collection: University Art Museum, Austin, Texas Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington St Louis Art Museum, St Louis, Missouri Los Angeles County Museum of Art,

Placed around the bathing platform are the accoutrements of her luxurious toilette: a large lota with a pouring spout, a ewer and a basin, a small wine cup, a basket for her discarded clothing, and a tray of long-necked vases (surahi) or rosewater sprinklers (gulabpash).

Los Angeles, California Institute for the Arts, Houston, Texas Lakeview Center for the Art and Sciences, Peoria, Illinois Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado Nelson Gallery of Art, Kansas City, Missouri Fine Arts Museum of the South, Mobile, Alabama

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61 K R I S H N A P A I N T S R A D H A’ S F E E T

INDIA (KANGRA), CIRCA 1810 HEIGHT: 20 CM WIDTH: 14.2 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

A painting from a Rasikapriya series.

In this picture of exquisite tenderness, Krishna, wearing a gold crown and yellow robe, kneels before Radha to paint her feet with auspicious red lac, popularly known as mahawar, a dye extracted from beetles. He supports her left foot in the palm of his left hand, on which he has placed the end of his yellow sash, unconcerned that it would become stained by the red dye. He holds a delicate brush in his right hand with which he embellishes her graceful toes, dipping the tip of the brush into the gold pot of lac placed on a tray between the lovers.

It would seem that he has already completed the painting of her right foot as each toe has been beautifully hennaed.

Krishna’s face is a mixture of happiness, concentration, devotion and desire in equal measure; it is clear from his rapt expression that there is nothing else he would rather do, nowhere he would rather be and no one he would rather be with than his beloved Radha.

Radha, elegantly dressed in a white robe and orange paijamas, is seated on a comfortable and luxuriously upholstered pink stool, resting her arms on a gold cushion as she gazes down at her adoring and subservient lover. Radha is here depicted as a Svadhinapatika Nayika, one of the ashta nayika or “eight heroines” that represent the eight different types of relationships that the romantic heroine (nayika) can have with her hero (nayaka). In the present scene, the heroine is so admired by her

husband as to have him in subjection, demonstrated by Krishna attending to Radha’s toilette.

However, what is also evident from the present painting is that though the nayika is in complete control, she loves him just as intensely and it is through her love and pleasing qualities that she subjugates him.

She does not use anger, jealousy or guile as means of control and absent from the character of the Svandhinapatika Nayika are the traits seen in other nayikas within the classifications of heroines. As she looks upon Krishna, Radha’s face radiates a quiet happiness and the attendant standing behind is amazed to witness this divine love.

The setting for this most refined expression of love is a white marble pavilion on a terrace. To the right are trees, delicate floral sprays and lush plantains laden with ripe fruit and clear symbolism. A silver awning with a floral pattern provides shade from the sun, alleviating all traces of harshness from this moment of quiet perfection.

To the lower left corner is a parrot in a cage. The parrot is a symbol of love and the vehicle of Kama, the god of love and the impeller of creation, whose name derives from kam, meaning longing or desire.

Creation is always preceded by love and desire and the parrot, as Kama’s vehicle, represents the feminine creative principal in nature. However, it is clearly not the feminine principal who is here trapped within a cage but Krishna who has been willingly captured by his love.

The ashta nayika classification (nayika-bheda) first appears in the Natya Shahstra, a key Sanskrit treatise on Indian performing arts, written by Bharata sometime between the second century BC and the second century AD.1

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The classification is detailed in later works like the Dasarupaka (10th century), Sahityadarpana (14th century) and various other treatises on poetics as well as erotic Kamashastra texts like the Kuttanimata (8th-9th century) based on courtesans, Panchasayaka, Anangaranga and Smaradipika.2 The Rasikapriya or “Love’s Breviary” is a sixteenth century poem in Hindi

by Keshavadasa (1555-1617) which analyses the stages of love through analogy with incidents involving Radha and Krishna. The Rasikapriya also elaborates on the ashta nayika.

Bharata’s heroine Svadhinabhartruka is named Svadhinapatika by Keshavadasa.3 A Kangra miniature showing Krishna similarly painting Radha’s feet is in the National Museum, New Delhi (acc. no. 49.19/290). This is illustrated on the website of the Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto. In their online chapter “Romantic Connotations of the Foot”, adoration of the foot is described as “both a glorifying and humbling experience. Feet are revered as the support of the body, which makes direct contact with the generative powers of the earth.

The foot is also the lowest, most potentially impure and polluting part of the body. A man expresses exclusive devotion by caressing, massaging and fondling the foot of his beloved while the touch of a woman’s foot on her lover’s head is a mark of extreme favour”. 4

Provenance: Doris Wiener Gallery, New York, 1990s

References: 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashta_ Nayika 2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. www.allaboutshoes.ca/en/paduka/ romantic_connotations/

62 KRISHNA AND R ADHA LOCKED IN AN AMOROUS EMBR ACE

INDIA (KANGRA STYLE IN HIMACHAL PRADESH), 1820-1840 FOLIO: HEIGHT: 24.4 CM WIDTH: 18.5 CM IMAGE: HEIGHT: 19.3 CM WIDTH: 14.2 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold and silver on paper.

Krishna wears a gold pointed crown and a long flower garland as he reclines on a charpoy and holds Radha round her waist, gently caressing her breast. Radha is draped in an orange veil with her hair tied back, though a wayward lock has trailed loose in the midst of their passionate embrace. Their tumbled limbs are inextricably intertwined as Radha holds herself above with her hands placed on his chest, the lovers staring tenderly into each other’s eyes. Their robes slip from their bodies to partially reveal yet still conceal their naked forms, generating an electric frisson. A lotus flower and a floral garland are set on a small table below the bed.

The scene takes place inside a walled formal garden with fountains, turrets, rectangular flower beds and a vaulted open pavilion through which the eye is led to the row of manicured trees in the background.

For a miniature with a similar depiction of Krishna and Radha in an embrace dated 1808, see B. N. Goswamy and Eberhard Fischer, Pahari Masters: Court Painters of Northern India, 1992, pp. 356-357, no. 154. This is by a painter in the circle of Sajnu.

The present miniature is not easy to date, though it was evidently painted around the time when the

Sikhs became dominant in the hills, so we have suggested a date of circa 1820-1840. It is also difficult to firmly place the painting within one of the hill states in this period, though the style is essentially that of Kangra.

The delicate colours and overall finesse of the painting owe a stylistic debt to Kangra, but this was more or less true throughout the Pahari hills by this time. The unusual spade-like trees are different to the variegated trees with individuated leaves and myriad blossoms found in Kangra painting. However, the dark blue scrolling floral border with alternating gold and silver flower-heads on a trailing vine is seen in many Kangra miniatures.

The floral border is set within wide red ruled margins that enclose a yellow border. This yellow border matches the yellow frame around Krishna and Radha’s elegant purple bed cover.

The formal flower beds and centrally placed pavilion recall the configuration of some Chamba paintings. The placement, decoration and architectural form of the pavilion relate closely to a white marble garden pavilion in a Chamba miniature by the artist Chajju, dating to circa 1800. This is illustrated in W. G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills: A Survey and History of Pahari Miniature Painting, 1973, vol. I, p. 88, Chamba.

45; vol. II, p. 66, pl. 45. As with pavilions seen in other Chamba paintings, this has wide openings that allow a view through to the gardens behind.

Though the Pahari hill states are close to each other, stylistic influences can often take a circuitous path. Should we propose Chamba as a possible candidate for the provenance of this painting based on the style of the pavilion and the gardens, we still have much to

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consider. Although Chamba occupies a central position in the Punjab hills, lying north of Kangra and deep in the Himalayas, its capital on the Ravi river was much closer to Basohli on the west than Kulu to the east. However, due to a long-standing border dispute with Basohli, there was little influence from Basohli painting in the eighteenth century.1 As in the case of Basohli, Kangra was on bad terms with Chamba due to a similar kind of border dispute over the fertile Rihlu district, south of the Daula Dhar mountains.

According to Archer, since there were no Chamba marriages with Kangra reported before about 1830, it is unlikely that any cultural exchanges existed before the mid nineteenth century.2 It was therefore from further down the Kangra valley, that is from Guler rather than Kangra itself that the Kangra style would have been disseminated in the early nineteenth century.3 This brief political overview does not take into account the influence of travelling families of painters who moved from state to state, as demonstrated by Goswamy and Fischer. We have now come full circle as the style commonly known as the Kangra style that dominated the hills in the first half of the nineteenth century originated with a family of great painters from Guler in the late eighteenth century: Pandit Seu Seu, Manaku, Nainsukh and the first and second generations after.

Provenance: Doris Wiener Gallery, New York, 1970s-1980s

References: 1. W. G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, 1973, vol. I, pp. 68-69.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

63 T WO LOVERS ON A TERR ACE

INDIA (KANGRA), 1820-1830 HEIGHT: 23.5 CM WIDTH: 18 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

Two lovers are seated in conversation on a lakeside terrace in front of a white marble pavilion. The man, who is dressed in the outdoor garb of a hunter or soldier, carries a shield on his back, a sword tucked into his patka (sash) and an elegant bow in one hand. His other hand, with raised elbow and palm turned back towards him, rests on his raised knee as he listens intently to what his lover is saying. Though his body and posture betray the alertness of his military bearing, his face is radiant with pleasure and serenity, and it is obvious that he basks in the glow of his ravishing beauty’s company. His quiver rests by his side, almost hidden from our view, as if to say that in front of his paramour he is disarmed.

The lady is dressed in a flowing yellow robe and veil. She leans against a large cushion and gesticulates animatedly with her fingers as she speaks with him, one elegant finger pointing, perhaps accusingly, at some imagined slight or neglect from her lover. Once again body and face give off

conflicting signals; her hands may accuse, but her eyes betray only her passion for her handsome hunter, at whom she stares directly and without any hint of real anger or displeasure. Though the painting has no inscription to identify the scene, it is possible that this miniature may be from a nayika series that details love in all its multifaceted splendour and turbulence.

Any hint of underlying tension is smoothed away by the idyllic setting. Floral carpets cover the marble terrace and the interior of the pavilion, which has three cusped arch openings, and is decorated above the projecting eave with exquisite pink lotus scrolls and a band of lotus petal chevrons. In front of the lovers, separating their world from the more ordinary one of the viewer, is a low marble jali balustrade of which the bulb finial of a post charmingly punctuates the scene, as if indicating a pause in their conversation. To the left, trees intertwined with glorious blossoms grow on the shore of the lake; behind are rolling hills under a gentle blue sky.

The painting has an oval frame, with split-leaf palmettes and lotus flowers and buds on scrolling vines to each of the white spandrels, all within blue and speckled pink borders.

64 TWO INDIAN GREY HORNBILLS

INDIA (CALCUTTA), CIRCA 1795 ATTRIBUTED TO CHUNNI LAL HEIGHT: 67.5 CM WIDTH: 50 CM

Watercolour on English paper watermarked WHATMAN. This unusual watercolour depicts Two Indian Grey Hornbills (Ocyceros birostris) seen against a striking background of abstract branch forms and tendrils.

The significance of the bony casque that gives hornbills their name is not known, though it may possibly act as a resonating chamber to amplify their calls. Both sexes have one, though it is usually a little larger in the male, as is the case in the pair illustrated here. The casque is lighter than it looks, being comprised of sponge-like filaments and a lot of air, but it is nevertheless cumbersome enough to demand certain anatomical modifications, including the long tail which acts as a counterbalance. Hornbills nest in tree holes, and the male actually seals the female inside with mud until the chicks are old enough to fledge, posting in food for his family through a tiny gap.

Hornbills are often seen in pairs.

These birds were probably painted as a pair because this element of their behaviour enhances their design potential. The painting is therefore scientifically correct in its observations, while making a very striking design.

This painting belonged to Major James Nathaniel Rind, who was in India from 1778 until 1804. Rind served in the 18th (and later 14th) Native Infantry. He was engaged in survey duty between 1785 and 1789. These surveys of Company territory, originally undertaken for administrative purposes, increasingly became a means of promoting scientific knowledge. Rind became Brigade Major in Calcutta in 1801 and died in England in 1813. Other natural history and genre drawings from his collection are illustrated in Stuart Cary Welch, Room for Wonder, Indian Painting during the British Period, 1760-1880, 1978, pp. 44-49, pls. 11, 12 and 13.

A Century of Indian Art for European Patrons 1770-1870, 1982, cat. no. 40.

The present painting was exhibited at Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox in London and published in the exhibition catalogue, Indian Painting for British Patrons: 1770-1860, 1991, cat. no. 8, where the birds were identified as two Common Grey Hornbills (Tockus birostris).

This painting is truly remarkable in its stylisation of the tree branches; more suggestive of a Mondrian than of an eighteenth century Indian artist.

Provenance:

Major Rind owned another version of this composition, possibly intending it for publication. This was exhibited in London at Eyre & Hobhouse and illustrated in their catalogue, A Cabinet of Natural Curiosities, 1983, cat. no. 57.

Major James Nathaniel Rind, Calcutta

A third version was in the MacGregor collection in Calcutta in the 1790s.

This was also exhibited in London at Eyre & Hobhouse, Company Painting:

Acknowledgement:

McFadden Collection, USA

Exhibited and published: Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, Indian Painting for British Patrons: 1770-1860, London, 27 February to 28 March 1991, cat. no. 8.

We would like to thank Katrina van Grouw for her expert advice and kind preparation of the notes on the hornbills.

65 S AT Y R T R A G O P A N

INDIA (LUCKNOW ), CIRCA 1790 HEIGHT: 61 CM WIDTH: 40.5 CM

Watercolour on English paper.

Inscribed in Persian to the bottom margin: morgh-e munavvar “Brilliant bird” This splendid bird is a Satyr Tragopan (Tragopan satyra), one of the largest and most colourful of the Pheasant family. The bright orange plumage of the male is not his only asset in attracting a mate. Tragopans have a secret. Concealed beneath the feathers of the throat is a patch of loose skin which can be inflated with air to form a sort of shield. It is shaped like a Dickey shirt front that has popped out of place, but of a vivid blue, and striped with pink.

To cap it all, it comes complete with two blue “horns” on either side of the head. Males will hide behind a log or stone to “pump themselves up”, then jump out in front of a passing female, displaying themselves in all their glory.

Tragopans are not usually found in such flat, open country as this characteristic Lucknow landscape of a flat plain dotted with stylised diminutive trees over which the bird towers and on which the dark shadow of the bird falls. Tragopans are birds of the Himalayas and they are difficult to observe in their dense forest habitat.

In this fine example of painting from Lucknow, the style of drawing still shows characteristics derived from the late Mughal school, which flourished at Lucknow in the late eighteenth century. What the artist has learnt from the art of the Mughals is the emphasis on the meticulous rendering of every line and feather in the bird’s splendid plumage, producing a glowing jewel-like image. What is also quintessentially Mughal is the ability to infuse the bird with a vital sense of life, so that the painting becomes more of an affectionate portrait rather than just a study, with a palpable living presence. At the same time, the artist demonstrates an undeniable appreciation of the superb decorative qualities of this striking image.

The flat landscape, with its hilly background fading to blue in the distance and the highly distinctive diminutive trees, is derived from that introduced into Lucknow painting in the 1760s by the artist Mihr Chand, who was very receptive to European ideas on the rendering of space and volume. The striking juxtaposition of the large bird against a miniaturised landscape is a Lucknow stylistic feature that adds immeasurably to the impact of the painting.

Another western feature is the preoccupation with the casting of shadows. Lucknow bird shadows are prominent but abstracted loops as seen in this painting. It is worth noting that the trees and shrubs

each have their own little shadow, painted with far greater delicacy than the shadow of the bird.

Examples of Lucknow painting are rare as many paintings were destroyed in the sack of the Lucknow palaces in 1857.

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Katrina van Grouw for her kind identification and description of the pheasant.

66 E G Y P T I A N V U LT U R E

INDIA (LUCKNOW ), CIRCA 1790 HEIGHT: 42.5 CM WIDTH: 66 CM

Watercolour on English paper.

Inscribed “& 143” to the top left corner.

The Egyptian Vulture is also called the White Scavenger Vulture or Pharaoh’s Chicken. It is a small Old World vulture and the only member of the genus Neophron. It is widely distributed and found from southwestern Europe and northern Africa to India. Egyptian Vultures that breed in the temperate regions migrate south in winter while tropical populations are relatively sedentary.1

Inscribed on the reverse: “JRN 18 NEOPHRON PERCNOPTERUS Egyptian Vulture” With their handsome black and white plumage, yellow face, and long, wedge-shaped tail, Egyptian Vultures (Neophron percnopterus) make a striking spectacle from a distance, particularly in flight.

However, at close range they seldom look so dapper. Vultures are not fussy about what they eat, and their feathers are often soiled with blood and bodily fluids from the carcasses of dead animals.

Carcasses offer a variety of feeding opportunities, and whereas the slender bill of the Egyptian Vulture is not strong enough to tear off lumps of flesh as other vultures do, it is perfect for picking off scraps of meat, and extracting marrow from broken bones. But they have learned another trick, too.

Egyptian Vultures are one of the few bird species to actually use tools, habitually using stones to break open Ostrich eggs. The use of tools is rare in birds and apart from the use of a pebble as a hammer, Egyptian Vultures also use twigs to roll up wool for use in their nest.

A southern Indian temple at Thirukalukundram, near Chengalpattu, was famed for a pair of birds that reputedly visited the temple for centuries.2 These birds were ceremonially fed by the temple priests and arrived before noon to feed on offerings made from rice, wheat, ghee, and sugar. Although normally punctual, the failure of the birds to turn up was attributed to the presence of sinners among the onlookers. Legend has it the vultures, or eagles, represented eight sages who were punished

by Shiva, two of them leaving in each of a series of epochs.3

The large scale of the bird towering over the miniaturised landscape is a striking feature that adds immeasurably to the impact of the painting. The truncation of the landscape emphasises the cantilever of the vulture’s tail over the empty space to the right, while the stylised jagged edge of the lake echoes the sharp points of the bill, the wing and tail feathers and the claws of the feet. The drawing of the landscape in a reduced shorthand form serves to emphasise that the splendid vulture is without doubt the main focus of our attention.

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Katrina van Grouw for her expert advice and kind preparation of the notes for this catalogue entry.

References: 1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_ Vulture 2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

The landscape with its flat receding ground and distinctive diminutive shrubs, is derived from that introduced into Lucknow painting by the artist Mihr Chand, who was very receptive to

European ideas on the rendering of space and volume. Another western feature is the preoccupation with the casting of shadows.

67 EUROPEANS ON FIVE ELEPHANTS HUNT A TIGER IN THE MARSHLAND GRASSES

INDIA (LUCKNOW ), CIRCA 1810 HEIGHT: 37.2 CM WIDTH: 56.2 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

Four Europeans seated in howdahs on elephants with Indian mahouts and riflemen, accompanied by hunters with bows and arrows on a fifth elephant, progress steadily through the tall marshland grasses as they close in on their prey, a huge tiger who leaps fearsomely out of the grass, claws unfurled and mouth open in a roar. Next to the tiger are the skeletal remains of an animal, perhaps a goat or deer that it has just eaten. The atmosphere is charged; the striking composition dramatically pits the encroaching hunters on the right against the empty wilderness on the left, where nothing can be seen for miles except the waving wetland grasses concealing the tiger under the austere blue sky. A trickling stream in the foreground completes the forbidding territory.

This painting and its companion, cat. no. 68, depict scenes from a hunting expedition that takes place during the reign of Nawab Asaf al-Daula of Awadh (1775-1797), seen shooting a tiger from a howdah in the next picture. In keeping with a scene from his reign, the Europeans seated in the howdahs have late eighteenth century costumes as well as hairstyles.

However, Jerry Losty has observed that the two paintings cannot be as early as late eighteenth century in date as their composition and landscape clearly show the influence of Thomas Williamson and Samuel Howitt’s Oriental Field Sports; Being a Complete, Detailed, and Accurate Description of the Wild Sports of the East, which was published in 1807.

This is a lavish two-volume work in which hand-tinted aquatints

by Howitt are interspersed with anecdotes by Captain Williamson, who spent twenty years in Bengal.

Several of the hunting scenes depicted by Howitt take place in territory filled with long grasses and these clearly provided inspiration for the present two pictures.

The Europeans on the other hand seem not to be taken from Howitt, but from an earlier source since some have their hair en queue, a fashion which did not linger as late as 1810. A possible source may be the print of Johann Zoffany’s “Colonel Mordaunt’s Cock Match”, the painting of which is now at the Tate Britain Gallery, London. Our very interesting Lucknow watercolour is clearly influenced by European sources and presumably done for a European client. Despite the early compositional date, the striking modernity of the design and the way the tiger emerges out of a sea of dense vegetation, prefigure the work of Henri “Le Douanier” Rousseau by nearly a century.

The Victoria and Albert Museum has a similar Lucknow watercolour of “Four elephants with Europeans seated in howdahs taking part in a tiger hunt”, (IS.1-1964). This is published but not illustrated in Mildred Archer, Company Paintings: Indian Paintings of the British Period, 1992, p. 124, no. 93. Archer tells us that the picture is published on the dust jacket of Peggy Woodford’s Rise of the Taj, 1978, which shows the enormous tiger leaping from the grass.

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Jerry Losty for his expert advice on these two fascinating hunting scenes.

68 N AW A B A S A F A L - D A U L A A N D H I S E N T O U R A G E O N N I N E E L E P H A N T S H U N T A T I G E R AT TA C K I N G A H O R S E M A N

INDIA (LUCKNOW ), CIRCA 1810 HEIGHT: 40.2 CM WIDTH: 58.5 CM

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

In the centre of a semi-circle formed by an expedition of hunters riding on nine elephants, a tiger has brought down a horse and its now unconscious rider. The tiger has gripped the horseman with its claws and bites the back of his neck as the struggling horse turns back to look helplessly, its eyes open wide in terror. Coming perhaps too late to the rescue are the hunters with long flintlock guns riding in howdahs, accompanied by an entourage armed with bows and arrows. This dramatic hunting scene takes place amidst tall marshland grasses growing almost as high as the elephants, with wet swampy patches seen to the foreground.

The grand Indian ruler shaded by a royal umbrella is Nawab Asaf al-Daula of Awadh (reigned 1775-1797).

The man with a green turban next to him, or perhaps the man in blue seated in the next howdah, may be a depiction of his chief minister and favourite bodyguard Hasan Reza Khan. Hasan Reza also had a distinctive moustache, with a dramatic upward curl, but the arm of the man in the green turban blocks his face as he takes aim at the tiger so we cannot be certain of his identity. A delightful detail is how the hunters close one eye to make an accurate shot.

In keeping with a scene from the reign of Asaf al-Daula, the two Europeans seated in the howdahs look eighteenth century in costume as well as hairstyle. However, Jerry Losty has observed that this painting and its companion, cat. no. 67, cannot

be as early as late eighteenth century in date as their composition and landscape clearly show the influence of Thomas Williamson and Samuel Howitt’s Oriental Field Sports; Being a Complete, Detailed, and Accurate Description of the Wild Sports of the East, which was published in 1807.

This is a lavish two-volume work in which magnificent hand-tinted aquatint illustrations by Howitt are interspersed with anecdotes by Captain Williamson, who spent twenty years in Bengal. It is described by C. F. G. R. Schwerdt as the “most beautiful book of Indian sport in existence”.

The Europeans on the other hand seem not to be taken from that publication but from an earlier source since some have their hair en queue, a fashion which did not linger as late as 1810. A possible source may be the print of Johann Zoffany’s “Colonel Mordaunt’s Cock Match”, the painting of which is now at the Tate Britain Gallery, London.

An illegitimate son of the Earl of Peterborough, the illiterate Mordaunt was a particular favourite of Asaf al-Daula. He was commander of the nawab’s bodyguard and leader of court amusements, including the cock-fights. It is tempting to speculatively identify the European figure in the red jacket as Mordaunt.

Zoffany’s painting includes all the major figures at the Lucknow court including Antoine Polier, Claude Martin, John Wombwell, Robert Gregory and Lieutenant Golding.

It seems reasonable to assume that some of these court favourites from the inner circle would also accompany the nawab on a tiger hunt.

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Jerry Losty for his expert advice on these two fascinating hunting scenes.

69 V I L L A G E R S AT R A N I A

INDIA (HARYANA, RANIA), CIRCA 1816 HEIGHT: 30 CM WIDTH: 41.7 CM

Opaque watercolour on paper.

Numbered “107” to the upper right; numbered and inscribed on the reverse in French “107 famille Princiere” and further inscribed in an Urdu hand.

This painting is an important new discovery and addition to the celebrated group of Company School pictures made for William and James Baillie Fraser. The artist who executed this portrait group can be identified as one of the master artists working for William Fraser. Though the painting does not have an attached cover sheet inscribed with the names of the figures, as do many of the Fraser pictures, all the villagers can be identified by comparison with figure groups illustrated in Mildred Archer and Toby Falk, India Revealed: The art and adventures of James and William Fraser 1801-1835, 1989.

Archer and Falk describe on pp. 16-18 how William Fraser was deeply steeped in the ways, manners, languages and customs of India.

He lived in a semi-Indian style, sporting a full beard at a time when most British were clean-shaven. He frequently wore complete native dress and became a vegetarian.

Living far way from Calcutta, William was untrammelled by the rules and conventions of settled areas.

Amongst the many places he visited during the course of his settlement work in the areas surrounding Delhi, Rania was a village that held a special charm for William. His ever-increasing knowledge of Indian customs and languages allowed him to assimilate easily with the people he encountered.

In moving from village to village, assessing potential land revenue in the areas outlying Delhi, Fraser developed friendships with the natives.

Two paintings in particular contain all the figures of our painting, seen in similar poses but in different combinations with other villagers.

These are “Salabat Bhatti and villagers at Rania”, on p. 101, pl. 75; and “Six villagers standing on a hillside”, on p.

109, pl. 95. The figures are identified by inscriptions in Persian and in William’s hand. Based on these inscriptions, the figures from left to right are as follows: Soojah [Muja], Rajpoot Bhutee son of Nijabut Khan, [Lambardar, resident of] Ranneah Hazir Khan, brother of Soojah [Muja], Rajpoot Amiban, Rajput [of the] tribe Makhokhar [Khokhar], inhabitant of Bhatrani, sister-in-law of Khwaju Soha Khajoo allee [Bhatee] Lumburdar, commonly called Soha Mojumee [resident of] Ranneah

Although he reputedly had several wives and numerous children, his favourite amongst them was a woman named Amiban, resident of Rania, who became his bibi. She is the graceful figure at the centre of this painting.

Amiban is portrayed in several Fraser pictures. Archer and Falk illustrate on p. 18, fig. 8, a delightful painting of Amiban wearing the same clothes as in our picture and standing in an almost identical pose, with her left hand coyly lifting her veil aside

to reveal her beautiful face. The inscription tells us that Amiban is “A Jat woman, the chosen one of Fraser Sahib, whose delicate beauty was beyond compare”. She appears again in “Salabat Bhatti and villagers at Rania”, now in the David Collection in Copenhagen.

The young boy who stands beside Amiban and who is identified as Hazir Khan, may be one of William’s children by Amiban. In the catalogue of the exhibition at the Asia Society Museum, New York, by William Dalrymple and Yuthika Sharma (eds.), Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi, 1707-1857, 2012, pp.

124-125, cat. no. 43, Sharma suggests that the real name of the boy may be Charles Fraser, William’s eldest son.

His identification as Hazir Khan could well be Fraser’s attempt to hide his son’s identity from his family in Scotland. Sharma and Dalrymple quote a moving letter written

by Major William Brown to James Fraser in 1843, indicating that after Fraser’s assassination in 1835, the care of his progeny in India was entrusted to friends.

Major Brown writes that he knows Charles Fraser intimately and “is exceedingly lucky in being able to speak very highly of him”, adding that “he is tolerably well off in the custom department and I hope it will not be very long ere he is promoted.”

Provenance: William and James Baillie Fraser

Mewah [Jeewah], Rajpoot, Mundewal, [resident of Rania] related to Nijabat Khan [Lambardar]

Private French Collection

70 P O R T R A I T O F D A K O O A J AT H A G E D 1 0 8 Y E A R S

INDIA (HARYANA, RANIA), DATED 1816 HEIGHT: 28 CM WIDTH: 18.2 CM

of blue. He wears a striped dhoti tied with a large bow of cloth to the waist, a shawl thrown with great aplomb over his shoulders, a large and regal turban, and very simple cloth slippers.

Published: Mildred Archer and Toby Falk, India Revealed: The art and adventures of James and William Fraser 1801-35, 1989, p. 118, pl. 109.

Pencil and watercolour on paper.

Inscribed in pencil to the narrow lower margin in Persian characters: shabihi Daku jat Mussumlam quwm sahu ‘umr yek sadu hasht saleh sakin Berar Inscribed on the inside of the detached original cover paper in pencil in William Fraser’s hand: “Dakoo a Mussulman Jath of Jumalpore, 108 yr old, Drawn in 1816.”

Inscribed on the outside of the original cover paper in Persian characters in black ink “nmbr bist-o-yek 21” and in pencil in William Fraser’s hand “No 21”.

Further inscribed on a second cover paper in brown ink in the hand of E. S. Fraser, transcribing William’s notes: “No.19 (21 of Persian list), The Portrait of Dako, a Mussulmann Jath aged 108 years, born at Jumalpore in Hurreanah.”

This quiet and immensely touching portrait shows the aged but dignified village patriarch looking quizzically and directly at the viewer, his eyes expressing more than a century of experience. Having his portrait painted would probably be a novel one, but he would have much admired the result of his likeness captured with such verisimilitude and accorded such grace.

Dakoo stands within a landscape of gently rolling hills, shrubs and coconut palms in the background; barren twigs of bonsai elegance to the foreground; and, on a grassy mound to the left, a village hut constructed of bricks with a wooden slatted door. Above is a sky of delicate clouds in evanescent shades

Dakoo has a wispy white beard, white eyebrows and white sideburns, though straggly black hairs still edge his ears.

The painter has captured every texture of his skin, drawn the parallel folds of flesh above his stomach, the white line of his collar bone, and rendered most exquisitely the fingers of both hands that rest on his walking stick. Both man and stick cast shadows on the patch of ground, firmly declaring that this is indeed the place to which he belongs.

In this wonderful portrait, we can clearly see how all the admiring observations made by B. N. Goswamy in praise of the Fraser pictures ring true: “So acutely studied are the faces and the costumes, and so sharp is the delineation of the personalities, the understanding of character, that it almost takes one’s breath away...

Interestingly, a large number - not all - are portraits of people of ordinary rank and yet nearly each character is clothed in remarkable dignity. A peon, a foot soldier, a messenger, a peasant, is treated with the same respect and is paid the same kind of attention as a Dewan or a prince is in these paintings. There they stand, these figures: dressed in uniforms or naked to the waist, tall of stature and confident of bearing, whether they are mercenary soldiers or horse merchants. The stances vary enormously, as do the looks, and the stunning range of costumes they wear. But then this is what James, or William, Fraser would have wanted: characters of flesh and blood whom they could carry back with them to their own land.” 1

Provenance: William and James Baillie Fraser By direct descent to Malcolm R. Fraser

Reference: 1. B. N. Goswamy, “Masters of the ‘Company’ Portraits”, pp. 769-778 in Milo Cleveland Beach, Eberhard Fischer and B. N. Goswamy (eds.) with Jorrit Britschgi (project director), Masters of Indian Painting II: 1650-1900, 2011, p. 775.

71 A TROOPER OF SKINNER’S HORSE HOLDING A SPEAR

INDIA (HARYANA, HANSI), CIRCA 1815-1816 HEIGHT: 29.2 CM WIDTH: 20.3 CM

Pencil and opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

In April 1815, William Fraser was appointed Commissioner for the Affairs of Garhwal in the Punjab Hills, necessitating a tour of the lower Himalayas to familiarise himself with the area, on which he was accompanied by his brother James.

It was during their time in the Himalayan foothills that James took up drawing with great enthusiasm.

At Saharanpur, on their way back from the Hills, James’s difficulties with drawing figures of local Indians and dissatisfaction with his own sketches led him to ask William to hire an Indian artist to take likenesses of servants and Gurkhas. These first pictures by an Indian artist, made at James’s request, were the genesis of the wonderful collection of Fraser pictures that have come to light.1 According to Mildred Archer and Toby Falk, the collection of over ninety coloured drawings by Indian artists found with the Fraser papers in 1979 have since been accepted as one of the finest groups of Company pictures yet known.2 Technically these drawings surpass all other Company pictures for their delicate realism, characterisation and subtle composition of groups.3 The success of Company pictures lies in the way in which an Indian artist was given freedom to exercise his talent with English encouragement and patronage, but not tuition or direct instruction by professional English painters, which would have had a very different result.4 By considering the Fraser pictures along with the documentation, especially the diaries and letters of James, who was a meticulous observer and detailed correspondent, as well as amateur artist whose sketches produced two masterly series of aquatints, we can

Though we cannot know for certain who painted each Fraser picture as neither James or William recorded the painters’ names, Archer and Falk suggest that on stylistic grounds the paintings may be ascribed to a single family of painters, that of Ghulam Ali Khan.8 The identity of the principal artist within this group of master painters of exceptional talent remains unknown, but recent scholarship has demonstrated that he is unlikely to be Ghulam Ali Khan himself.9

more fully understand the way in which English interaction with Indian artists created the Company paintings.

The artist hired by James would probably have come from Delhi and would have been practised at drawing figures. Archer and Falk suggest that because James himself made several attempts at drawing Gurkhas, he would no doubt have shown his own drawings to the artist and it must have been James’s example that led to the European compositions of these groups, with their lines of interrelated standing figures, or single standing figures such as the present portrait, set against a plain background.5

A number of subjects in the Fraser Album were members of the private regiment of Colonel James Skinner, a British military adventurer in India who was of Anglo-Indian descent and a great friend of William. Skinner, who pursued a lavish lifestyle in the manner of Indian princes and was famous for his eccentric character, raised a regiment of irregular cavalry known as “Skinner’s Horse” at his estate and farm at Hansi, the capital of ancient Haryana, founded in the eighth century. The town is to the north-west of Delhi. William bred horses on Skinner’s farm as an extra source of income and also because new breeding stock was a constant cause of concern for the East India Company.10

On their return to Delhi, William hired an Indian painter at James’s request to sketch architectural subjects and figures of horsemen, officers, fakirs and camels, now sadly lost. When James left for Calcutta in June 1816, he left instructions with William for further drawings and William took an artist with him during his tours. James himself realised the potential of these portraits as a record of the great variety of Indian groups, their costumes and ways of life from unknown regions. They remain the earliest detailed visual record of people from the Hills and other parts of Rajasthan.6 By 1819, another forty pictures had been finished and sent to James in Calcutta by William.

The trooper in the present work is depicted in an informal manner, dressed not in uniform but in a light grey dhoti. He holds a double-pointed spear, shield and sword, placing him within context. The vivid red of his turban contrasts sharply with the subtle colour palette of the rest of the painting. The artist elegantly captures his subject’s strong features and taut, muscled body with its direct, frontal stance. The luminous, translucent colour is the perfected Company School technique of coloured drawing, akin to watercolour but with the use of more opaque pigments.

For other troopers, see Archer and Falk, 1989, pp. 122-123, pls. 115 and 116, depicting a trooper in a dhoti; p. 120, pl. 112 for a cavalryman in complete uniform. Ummee Chund, the youth who foiled an attempted assassination on William, is attired in full uniform and coat on p. 44, pl. 18.

Provenance: William and James Baillie Fraser

Published: Mildred Archer and Toby Falk, India Revealed: The art and adventures of

The Fraser pictures are of special significance as they were made in the Delhi territory, an area not taken over by the British until after 1803, far from Calcutta where the finest Company pictures had hitherto been painted in a very different style.7 Company paintings in the Delhi region before the Fraser project were almost exclusively of architectural monuments so the Fraser pictures, depicting people and costumes in an area until now untouched by European presence or example, represent a radical new departure.

150

Skinner’s troops were highly trained and extremely skilled, and they earned fame as the best light cavalry regiment of that time. Skinner had their uniforms specially designed, the signature colours being bright yellow and scarlet, leading to the moniker, “The Yellow Boys”. As early as August 1815, a few months after his appointment as Commissioner, William had been offered a rank in Skinner’s Horse, though it was not until October 1817 that he received official permission to accept it from Charles Metcalfe, the Delhi Resident to whom he was accountable.

William, with his experience of recruiting able men, was a great help to Skinner and many of William’s irregulars from the Nepal war were transferred to Skinner’s Horse.11

James and William Fraser 1801-35, 1989, p. 121, no. 114.

References: 1. Mildred Archer and Toby Falk, India Revealed: The art and adventures of James and William Fraser 1801-35, 1989, p. 45.

2. Ibid., pp. 44-46.

3. Ibid., p. 40.

4. Ibid., p. 44.

5. Ibid., p. 45.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid., p. 46.

9. See Jerry Losty’s discussion of the Fraser picture “Kala in the uniform of Skinner’s horse” in Rosemary Crill and Kapil Jariwala (eds.), The Indian Portrait: 1560-1860, 2010, pp. 158-159, pl. 55.

10. Archer and Falk, 1989, p. 17.

11. Ibid., p. 38.

72 PORTRAIT OF A GURKHA SOLDIER

INDIA (DELHI OR SAHARANPUR), CIRCA 1815 HEIGHT: 19.3 CM WIDTH: 14.5 CM

Watercolour on paper.

Inscribed on an accompanying note

by E. S. Fraser: “No. 47 A Ghoorka soldier (portrait)” In the autumn of 1814, war broke out against the Gurkhas of Nepal.

Ever since the Gurkhas had secured Kathmandu in 1768, their power had extended until they reached the plains, where they came up against the British. Boundaries were ill-defined and disputes commonplace. The British interpreted Gurkha territorial expansion as a threat to British trade with Tibet and China so early in 1814, the directors of the East Indian Company sanctioned recourse to arms.1 William Fraser was posted as Political Agent to Major General Rollo Gillespie and during a bungled attack

by Gillespie on the eastern wing of the Kathmandu army at Kalanga fort in the Dun valley, William was wounded by an arrow through the neck but he recovered swiftly and went on to fight other campaigns against the Gurkhas.

On 13th March 1815, when James Fraser reached Nahan to meet William, he was disappointed to find his brother absent and his tent at the military camp empty. William had gone as part of a force to reduce the Gurkha Fort at Chaupal in the mountains of the Jubal state. In his absence James observed the preparations for the siege of Jaithak fort, the nearby Gurkha stronghold, noting the huge guns and ammunition dragged up the hills by elephants.

William returned on the 17th March to Blackhill, the British camp 1700 feet above Nahan, and the brothers

were reunited after a separation of sixteen years.2

The round face and straggly hair of the Gurkha are immensely appealing even though he is evidently lost in thought as he waits for the artist to finish taking his likeness. As Jerry Losty observes, it is this air of complete naturalism that makes these drawings by the Fraser artists so appealing, a view shared by B. N. Goswamy who remarks that in nearly all these sensitive portraits, the figures are seen frontally, their “full faces looking intently at the painter with neither arrogance or inhibition... The characters seem to say to the viewer that this is how we are, how we are like… Well ahead of the coming of the camera, these portraits come as close as possible to ‘telling it as it is’: honest and evocative and in many cases moving in their humanity”. 5 These are qualities both Fraser brothers would have greatly appreciated. James wrote of his memorable first encounter with Gurkhas on 20th March 1815:

On 20th March 1815, James noted in his diary his first close encounter with Gurkhas. These celebrated fighters and hardy denizens of the hills interested James greatly. They were at war with the British and yet in the conquered territories William, who held the Gurkhas in great esteem despite their enemy status, had been able to recruit individuals who were prepared to join the British cause. William was able to find enough Gurkhas willing to take the Company’s shilling to form two complete Gurkha regiments to serve the Company. One hundred Gurkhas had capitulated from Chaupal fort and another hundred tough but raggedy soldiers deserted from Jaithak. William, being the first to recruit Gurkha fighting men for the British service, is one of the founding fathers of the Gurkha regiments that have served with the British army ever since.3

Drawings of Gurkhas are illustrated in Mildred Archer and Toby Falk, India Revealed: The art and adventures of James and William Fraser 1801-35, 1989, pls. 9, 66, 131 and 132.

For the latest views on the Fraser artists, see J.P. Losty, “Indian Painting from 1730-1825”, pp. 583-584 in Milo Cleveland Beach, Eberhard Fischer and B. N. Goswamy (eds.) with Jorrit Britschgi (project director), Masters of Indian Painting II: 1650-1900, 2011; and B. N. Goswamy, “Masters of the ‘Company’ Portraits”, pp. 769-778 of the same publication. See also William Dalrymple and Yuthika Sharma (eds.), Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi, 1707-1857, 2012.

Provenance: William and James Baillie Fraser Private American Collection

“Last night my Brother’s Ghoorka company came in - such ragamuffins I have seldom seen - and such a set of ugly faces never - they have the Chinese features mixed with the tartars - strikingly ugly - their dirty sallow complexion is an admirable addition to their dark shaggy hair, shorn by the ears, and very bushy - upon the head they wear a peculiar turban somewhat like the broad Scotch bonnet - their garments are filthy and they carry besides a tulwar, a short crooked knife in their cummerbund”. 6

In this painting, our middle-aged Gurkha warrior stands firmly on his two bare feet, dressed in a white angarkhi and paijama and a pointed hat, his huge kukri in its scabbard stuck through his cummerbund. In his left hand he holds a matchlock gun, almost as tall as himself, that rests on his upper arm; a powder and shot magazine is slung over his left shoulder. William’s brief to recruit locals for an irregular force highly effective in scouting operations and swift harassment of enemy lines was a point of resentment for his commanding officer General Martindell. Though by the end of 1814 the irregulars numbered about 4,000 they were mostly issued with outdated matchlock muskets such as our Gurkha carries. These had to be muzzle-loaded with powder and shot instead of the more modern flintlocks and cartridges.4

Published: Mildred Archer and Toby Falk, India Revealed: The art and adventures of James and William Fraser 1801-35, 1989, p. 131, pl. 132.

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Jerry Losty for his expert advice on the Fraser paintings in this catalogue.

References: 1. These notes on Gurkhas are compiled from Mildred Archer and Toby Falk, India Revealed: The art and adventures of James and William Fraser 1801-35, 1989, chapters 2

James also notes in his diary William’s description of the “Ghoorkalees as a far superior race to those of the country - in size and strength, in discipline and determined courage and long endurance. They are said to run up a mountain or steep aclivity with wonderful agility, even with greater ease than our troops tread the rough jungly plains of that wild district”. 7

152

and 3, pp. 19-35.

2. Ibid., p. 23.

3. Ibid., p. 29.

4. Ibid.

5. B. N. Goswamy, “Masters of the ‘Company’ Portraits”, pp. 769 and 775 in M. C. Beach, E. Fischer and B. N. Goswamy (eds.), Masters of Indian Painting II: 1650-1900, 2011.

6. Archer and Falk, 1989, p. 24.

7. Ibid., p. 21.

73 E Q U E S T R I A N P O R T R A I T O F A P R I N C E LY R U L E R

Central India or Northern Deccan, circa 1870 Height: 61 cm Width: 71 cm

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

Imprinted in ink on the reverse with the Datia State tasvirkhana stamp and inscribed with the word “Chohan” in devanagari, possibly referring to an identification of Prithviraj Chauhan.

In this large and bold composition, a horseman wearing a truly remarkable moustache canters across an undulating countryside on a great dappled stallion. He wears a turban in the Maratha style with a side peak. His robe is caught up in front and the whole secured with a large shawl as is often found in nineteenth century paintings. He wears a gold choker with rubies and pearls over strings of emerald beads. A sword is tucked into his patka. The saddlecloth of the horse is secured by a chevron band.

Both horseman and steed are very powerfully built and together with the generous proportions of the painting, generate an impression of great splendour.

According to Jerry Losty, the Datia State stamp suggests a central Indian provenance for the horseman and painting, but while examples of Datia painting are known from around the turn of the century, this bears no relation to them. It is also unlike the productions of other central Indian schools such as Ratlam and Sitamau. If the horseman is intended to be a portrait of the great Rajput hero, Prithviraj Chauhan, then he has been metamorphosed into a contemporary Maratha.

composed by his court poet Chand Bardai, the Chauhan clan was part of the Agnivanshi Rajputs who derived their origins from the sacrificial fire pit of Agni. Chauhan was the last independent Hindu king to sit upon the throne of Delhi.2 Chauhan controlled much of present day Rajasthan and Haryana, and unified the Rajputs against Muslim invasions. His elopement with Sanyogita (Samyukta), the daughter of Jai Chandra Rathod, the Gahadavala king, is a popular romantic tale and one of the subjects of the Prithvirajaraso.3 Prithviraj Chauhan defeated the Muslim ruler Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghori in the First Battle of Tarain in 1191 and set him free as a gesture of mercy. Ghori attacked again the next year and Prithviraj was defeated and captured at the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192.4 Sultan Ghori took Prithviraj to Ghazni, where Prithviraj was cruelly blinded by red hot pokers.5 Legend has it that in an archery contest, the poet Chand Bardai gave Prithviraj the physical location of Ghori in the arena by reciting a poem with the phrase “Ten pole measures, twenty four arms’ length and eight fingers’ width away, is seated the Sultan, do not miss him now, Chauhan”. As Ghori ordered the show to start, Prithviraj located him by the sound of his voice and the poem’s precise measurements, and shot him dead.6 Prithviraj was then killed by Ghori’s bodyguards. After the defeat of Prithviraj, Delhi came under the control of Muslim rulers.

Provenance: Datia Royal Collection Private Swiss Collection, Lugano

References:

Prithvi Raj III, commonly known as Prithviraj Chauhan, was a king of the Hindu Chauhan dynasty, who ruled the twin kingdoms of Ajmer and Delhi in the latter part of the twelfth century.1 According to the Prithvirajaraso, an epic poem

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prithviraj _Chauhan.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

74 I ’ T I M A D U D - D A U L A’ S T O M B AT A G R A

INDIA (AGRA), 1810-1820 HEIGHT: 57 CM WIDTH: 81 CM

Watercolour heightened with gold on paper, with pencil, pen and grey ink within black lined borders, the paper watermarked 1801 J WHATMAN. Inscribed to the bottom right corner: “Palace Adoulah’s Tomb No1” This magnificent depiction of the tomb of I’timad ud-Daula at Agra, both delicate and finely detailed, provides an accurate rendering of the pietra dura inlays and carved marble jali screens of the great mausoleum.

This monument was built by Empress Nur Jahan, wife of Jahangir, in honour of her parents. The construction of the tomb began in 1622 and was completed in 1628, the year Shah Jahan assumed the throne. Nur Jahan’s father was a Persian official named Mirza Ghiyas Beg, a nobleman and intellectual of lofty extraction and cultural refinement, who came to India during Akbar’s reign. He rose to great power at the imperial Mughal court during the reign of Jahangir and was given the exalted title of “I’timad ud-Daula”, which translates as “Pillar of the State”.

Although less well known than the Taj Mahal, the tomb of I’timad ud-Daula is considered by many to be the finer monument. In the exclusive use of white marble it antedates the Taj Mahal.1 A curvilinear roof of bangla form crowns the second-storey pavilion.2 At each of the four corners of the mausoleum is an octagonal turret similar to a short minaret crowned by a small pillared kiosk (chhatri). 3 The marble pavilion stands on a contrasting red sandstone platform and is set in a quadripartite garden (chahar bagh) with elevated red sandstone walkways. Though modest in size, as befits the mausoleum of a

nobleman rather than an emperor, the tomb of I’timad ud-Daula is lavish in its use of semi-precious stones, and the workmanship and design are of surpassing quality. The geometric incrustations and floral arabesques that cover the surface of the opalescent white marble are composed of lapis lazuli, onyx, jasper, topaz, agate and cornelian. The predominant tones of yellow, ochre, russet, brown, black and pale grey transform the entire edifice into one vast and glittering mosaic.4 Motifs that evoke the delights of paradise and function as symbols of immortality include vases with bouquets of flowers; covered cups and bowls standing on trays and long-necked flasks (surahis). Marble jalis of astonishing complexity harmoniously complement the exquisite pietra dura inlays.

A painting of I’timad ud-Daula in the collection of Paul F. Walter in New York is published in Pratapaditya Pal, Janice Leoshko, Stephen Markel and Joseph M. Dye, III, Romance of the Taj Mahal, 1989, p. 69, no. 59. The large and spectacular circa 1812 version that once belonged to Maria, Lady Nugent, now at the British Library, is illustrated in Ebba Koch, The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006, pp. 50-51, no.

60. A painting that belonged to H. J. Allcroft at Stokesay Court, published in Spink, A Journey Through India: Company School Pictures, 1996, front cover and cat. no. 8, is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Provenance: The Edmonstone Family Collection, Duntreath Castle

References: 1. Pratapaditya Pal, Janice Leoshko, Stephen Markel and Joseph M. Dye, III, Romance of the Taj Mahal, 1989, p. 52.

2. Ibid., p. 75.

3. Amin Okada and Jean-Louis Nou, A Jewel of Mughal India: The Mausoleum of I’timad ud-Daulah, 2003, pp. 16-17.

4. Ibid.

75 V I E W O F T H E TA J M A H A L F R O M T H E S O U T H - W E S T

INDIA (AGRA), CIRCA 1820 HEIGHT: 56 CM WIDTH: 76 CM

Pen, ink and watercolour on paper watermarked J WHATMAN 1820.

Inscribed in Persian to the top at the centre: rowzeh-ye munavvareh-ye shahjahan padshah va mumtaz mahall al-ma’ruf be-rowzeh-ye taj ganj bar lab-e darya-ye jamon shahr-e agrah “The illuminated tomb of Shahjahan Padshah and Mumtaz Mahal known as Rowzeh-ye Taj Ganj on the bank of the river Yamuna in the city of Agra”.

Further inscribed “Taj Mahal” to the lower left and “No 13” to the upper left.

The Qur’anic inscription running around the pishtaq or monumental porch of iwan form is Sura 36 (Ya Sin), verses 22-42. The smaller inscription band running around the bottom arch that surrounds the jali-enclosed door on the ground floor is Sura 82 (al-Infitar). The inscriptions are written in formal sulus script.

This is a view of the west side of the Taj Mahal, taken from the south-west corner of the riverfront terrace (chabutra or kursi) on which the Taj Mahal stands. We look across the front of the Taj Mahal, its south side, where the building is entered via the garden on the right of the painting, towards the south-east octagonal tower (burj) that marks the end of the platform. On the left of the painting can be seen the river Yamuna.

Glimpsed between the Taj and its minarets is the Mihman Khana or assembly hall. This is one of two red sandstone buildings that flank the white marble Taj, the other being the Mosque in front of which the viewer stands. We see only its rectangular tank for ablutions before prayer.

Jerry Losty has observed that this subject is in many ways the most spectacular of the Agra draughtsmen’s views of the Taj Mahal as it allows the artists to show off their knowledge of double-point perspective while allowing for the inclusion of every detail of the decoration. To the foreground can be seen the sandstone slabs in two colours leading towards the alternating marble and sandstone slabs around the mausoleum itself.

The Taj Mahal sits on a square white marble platform with a minaret (minar) at each corner. We see only three as the north-east minaret is hidden from us by the Taj in this angled view. The view however allows us to enjoy details such as the netted vaulting within the pishtaq and the small flanking niches inset with jalis, and the play of the staggered guldastas surmounting the chevron-decorated thin engaged shafts that terminate with a flourish above the roof level.

In the same way, the roof top octagonal chhatris (kiosks) dance in attendance around the drum of the magnificent central dome that soars towards the sky. The dome is crowned by enfolding carved lotus leaves and a finial (kalasha) comprising a tier of gilded bulbs topped by a crescent.

Losty suggests that this is the only Agra draughtsman’s view for which there might be a European prototype in the earliest known European depiction of the Taj Mahal. This is a coloured drawing by Thomas Longcroft showing the same viewpoint, dating to circa 1786, now at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. This is illustrated

by Ebba Koch in The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006, pp. 234-235, fig. 357.

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Will Kwiatkowski for his reading of the inscriptions.

76 T H E TA J M A H A L S E E N F R O M T H E G A R D E N

INDIA (LUCKNOW ), DATED 1880 HEIGHT: 67.5 CM WIDTH: 98.5 CM

Ink and watercolour on paper watermarked J WHATMAN 1875.

Inscribed to the upper margin “THE TAJ AGRA”.

Inscribed to the lower left corner: “Drawn by Koodrutoollah Draft man Sup//dg Eng//r Office Pres//dg & Oudh Com//d M. W. 15th February 1880” This architectural drawing depicts a view of the Taj Mahal from the formal gardens in front of the monument. In contrast to the striking angled view of the Taj Mahal in the previous picture of this catalogue, cat. no. 75, this frontal view allows an appreciation of the perfect mirror symmetry of the design and the precise balance of the proportions.

This painting depicts the Taj Mahal without the red sandstone buildings that flank the mausoleum on the red sandstone terrace, the Mosque on the left and the Mihman Khana or assembly hall on the right.

The inclusion of these flanking elements would have underlined the commanding central position of the Taj Mahal and emphasised the hierarchy of the tripartite structure, but this depiction of the Taj Mahal by itself emphasises instead its fabled whiteness, without the distraction of red other than in the pale strip of sandstone terrace seen below the white marble platform on which the monument and its four minarets sit.

Since the monument fills most of the page, its immense size is also celebrated.

At the same time, the predominantly white palette reminds us of its ethereal lightness, the way the building seems to effortlessly float,

a quality noted by all astounded visitors to this great monument.

The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Arjumand Banu, much better known by the title of Mumtaz Mahal (Exalted One of the Palace), who died in 1631.

She was the grand-daughter of I’timad ud-Daula, the daughter of Asaf Khan, and the niece of Nur Jahan. The foundations and base of the monument were completed within three years of her death and by 1643, a mere twelve years from her demise, this most famous of buildings was complete. Costing five million rupees in labour alone, not counting the vast expense of the materials, white marble and gemstones, the Taj Mahal was the ultimate expression of an emperor’s love for his empress.

The Taj Mahal towers 76 metres in height standing on its marble plinth.

The impact of the building is the result of its exquisite detailing as much as its imposing size. It was during Shah Jahan’s time that the art of pietra dura inlay was brought to consummate heights of mastery.

Yet at no time does the surface decoration detract from the purity and whiteness of the marble from which the building derives its greatest impact. This fabled whiteness, symbol of Mumtaz’s own purity, is heightened by the contrasting buildings in red sandstone.

Discussion of the Taj Mahal’s whiteness leads us inevitably to one of the most enduring and popular legends that has grown up around the building. According to the seventeenth century French traveller and writer Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, it was Shah Jahan’s intention to build a black marble version of the Taj Mahal to house his own cenotaph on the opposite bank of the Yamuna river. Although there are no Mughal sources that corroborate with this story and no archeological evidence to support his claims, Tavernier’s tale has become popular myth.

77 B R O N Z E TA J M A H A L TA B L E

STUDIO JOB, BELGIUM (ANTWERP), 2012 JOB SMEETS (B.1970 BELGIUM) & NYNKE TYNAGEL (B.1977 THE NETHERLANDS) FROM AN EDITION OF 8 + 3 ARTIST PROOFS AND 1 PROTOTYPE THIS TABLE IS THE PROTOTYPE HEIGHT: 60.5 CM WIDTH: 67.5 CM DEPTH: 67.5 CM

A bronze sculpture of the Taj Mahal at Agra, cast to scale and placed upside down with a copper top, so providing a freshly cockeyed view of an internationally recognised edifice, as well as an unusual and contemporary square coffee table.

The use of cast black bronze gives the table a powerful solidity and contrasts with the vibrant polished copper table top, four copper domed

minarets upon which the table rests and further inner copper domes.

Cleverly using the simple device of mirroring a world famous building, the table creates a contemporary sculpture from a historical icon. It playfully manipulates the viewer’s initial perceptions, as for most there will be a moment of obliviousness before the stark realisation of what is actually in front of them. The strength and depth of the cast black bronze competes with the lighter and more delicate copper, and it is only when one approaches more closely, that the inner niches and detail of the flipped mausoleum can be truly appreciated. This scale model is based upon the same architectural principles as used in the original white marble Taj Mahal, barring minor changes. In practice these equate to the minarets at each corner being stretched so that they are longer than the central dome, therefore providing support for the

table. Legend has it that a black Taj Mahal was to be built as a mausoleum for Shah Jahan himself, a myth which the table possibly alludes to.

This prototype was unveiled at the Art Basel Miami 2012 exhibition to much acclaim, and from it, three artist proofs and a further eight examples have been produced for sale. As such, it is considered the most important in the series. It is cast from fresh moulds, and so retains a sharpness and clarity which is possibly missing from the examples for sale. A prototype is different to an artist proof, whereby the prototype exists as the first version; the final design for the editioned artwork may change slightly. For the prototype it is the first time the artist and foundry have attempted to realise the form and finish as a complete artwork and as such is often

considered the most important in the series. The table has the foundry stamp reading ‘JOB 12 PROTO’ on the back of the table. (JOB for ‘Studio Job’, 12 for ‘2012’ and Proto for ‘prototype’).

Studio Job is a design studio created by Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel, a young and inventive Belgian/Dutch couple based in Antwerp. Items designed by them are made using traditional hand crafted methods and have been shown in museums and galleries around the world, winning many awards. As Job Smeets explains: “we inhabit the space between art and design, function and sculpture”.

Other works have been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Groningen Museum, Netherlands; and Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands. They have also done commercial designs for Swarovski and Moooi.

Exhibited work: Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England 14 July-18 October 2009 Groningen Museum, Groningen, Netherlands 2006-2007 Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands 2004-2005

Literature: Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel, Studio Job: The Book of Job, 2010 Gareth Williams, Telling Tales: Fantasy and Fear in Contemporary Design, 2009 Sophie Lovell, Furnish: Furniture and International Design for the 21st Century, 2007

78 T H E C E N O TA P H O F M U M TA Z M A H A L

INDIA (AGRA), 1810-1820 HEIGHT: 62 CM WIDTH: 132 CM

Watercolour on English paper dated 1803.

This large architectural study depicts the east side of the cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal at the Taj Mahal, with fine details of the floral and calligraphic pietra dura inlays in the white marble.

Shah Jahan died in 1666 and was buried next to his favourite wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, known as Mumtaz Mahal, for whom he built the Taj Mahal. His cenotaph was inserted beside hers and they are oriented north to south, with the head to the north, in compliance with Islamic practice. Her cenotaph, dated 1632 in an epigraph, is placed at the exact centre of the octagonal screen enclosure that surrounds the two cenotaphs at the Taj Mahal, with Shah Jahan’s placed on her western side. Mumtaz Mahal died in the year AH 1040/1631AD. This asymmetry suggests that Shah Jahan was never intended to be buried there.

consists primarily of floral designs, with a sunburst to the head of the cenotaph. Mumtaz Mahal’s cenotaph is covered with inscriptions from the Qur’an and she does not have a pen case to the top.

The inscriptions shown in this view of the east side of Mumtaz Mahal’s cenotaph are from Qur'an Sura 83 (al-Mutaffifin), verses 22-28 (in part): “Indeed the righteous will be in pleasure, on adorned couches, observing. You will recognize in their faces the radiance of pleasure. They will be given to drink [pure] wine which was sealed. The last of it is musk. So for this let the competitors compete. And its mixture is of Tasneem, a spring from which those near [to Allah] drink.” 2 These inscriptions form part of the programme of verses from the Qur’an that make up the main decoration of Mumtaz Mahal’s cenotaph. Written in formal sulus script of great elegance, the common theme of the verses is the comfort of the Mumtaz’s soul with the prospect of paradise.3 The inscriptions cover the top of the cenotaph and all four sides.

different varieties of floral motifs used at the Taj Mahal, naturalistic plants are confined to the platform, where two types alternate, between borders of hanging blossoms.4 Koch describes the first type of flower as having asymmetrically arranged erect funnel-shaped calyxes and buds. The second type is a perfectly symmetrical arrangement of seven smaller blossoms and buds.

Though not as botanically accurate as the identifiable floral species in the decoration of Shah Jahan’s cenotaph, both flower types seem to be inspired by lilies.5 A comparable drawing of the east side of the cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal is illustrated by Ebba Koch in The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006, p. 172, fig. 241. This is from a circa 1812 album of drawings that belonged to Maria, Lady Nugent and is now in the British Library in London.

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Will Kwiatkowski for his reading of the inscription in this painting.

References:

The cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan are similar in design, each consisting of a block of marble in the shape of a sarcophagus, set on a stepped plinth, which is in turn placed on a wider platform.1 Shah Jahan’s cenotaph, which is larger in size, has what is known as his pen case on top and the pietra dura inlay

The projecting moulding to the top of the sarcophagus block and the triple-tiered stepped base are decorated with horizontal friezes of intertwining vines, from which hang stylised pendant flowers.

1. Ebba Koch, The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006, p. 170.

2. The translation given here is from Saheeh International, The Qur’an: English Meanings and Notes, Riyadh, Al-Muntada Al-Islami Trust, 2001-2011.

3. Koch, 2006, p. 171.

According to Ebba Koch, who has made a detailed study of the

166

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

79 T H E C E N O TA P H O F S H A H J A H A N

INDIA (AGRA), 1810-1820 HEIGHT: 60 CM WIDTH: 132 CM

Watercolour on paper watermarked JAMES WHATMAN TURKEY MILL KENT 1804.

This large architectural study depicts the side elevation of the cenotaph of Shah Jahan at the Taj Mahal, with fine details of the floral pietra dura inlays in the white marble.

Shah Jahan died in 1666 and was buried next to his favourite wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, known as Mumtaz Mahal, for whom he built the Taj Mahal. His cenotaph was inserted beside hers and they are oriented north to south in compliance with Islamic practice. Her cenotaph is placed at the centre of the octagonal screen that surrounds the two cenotaphs, with Shah Jahan’s placed on her western side.

The cenotaphs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal are similar in design, each consisting of a block of marble in the shape of a sarcophagus, set on a stepped plinth, which is in turn placed on a wider platform.1 Shah Jahan’s cenotaph, which is larger in size, has a symbolic pen case on top and a sunburst to the head of the

cenotaph. The pietra dura inlay consists almost entirely of flowers and scrollwork, without any formal inscriptions. The only exception is ˛ the epitaph written in nasta liq at the south end at the base, which gives the date AH 1076/1666 AD. According to Ebba Koch, who has made a detailed study of the different varieties of floral motifs used at the Taj Mahal, the decoration of Shah Jahan’s cenotaph is distinguished by its use of identifiable and botanically accurate flowers.1 This is in contrast to the lily-like flowers seen on Mumtaz Mahal’s cenotaph, which while quite naturalistic in appearance, are stylised to a much greater degree.

Decorating the sides of the platform are two types of flowering plant, set within cartouches formed of baluster arcades. Koch identifies the first species as a double-tiered crown imperial or Fritillaria imperialis, a species that grows in the Himalaya region.2 This species alternates with a lily-derived plant with small star-shaped flowers and lanceolate leaves.3 The sarcophagus block itself is decorated on all sides with baluster arcades of botanically accurate red poppies that alternate with yellow

lilies.4 According to Koch, the covering of the emperor’s cenotaph with recognisable poppies may be intended to give heightened realism to the red flowers as symbols of suffering and death.5 The projecting moulding to the top of the sarcophagus block and the triple-tiered stepped base are decorated with horizontal friezes of intertwining vines from which hang stylised pendant flowers. The pen case is decorated with a floral diaper edged with a band of sharply serrated green leaves that echo the pointed rays of the sunburst on the top of the cenotaph. It signifies that the tomb has a male occupant.

References: 1. Ebba Koch, The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006, p. 170.

2. Ibid., p. 171; see a photograph of the Fritillaria imperialis executed in pietra dura on p. 221, fig. 345.

3. Ibid., p. 171.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

80 T H E S O U T H E N D O F S H A H J A H A N ’ S C E N O TA P H

INDIA (AGRA), CIRCA 1820 WIDTH: 54 CM HEIGHT: 75.6 CM

Opaque watercolour on English paper.

Inscribed to the bottom margin: “Elevation of the Tomb of Shah Jahan, One View of the Original in One Third of the Original in size, no. 7.”

In this unusual architectural watercolour, Shah Jahan’s cenotaph projects towards us against a dramatic black ground. ˛ The epitaph, written in nasta liq and placed at the foot (south end) of the cenotaph reads: marqad-e motahhar-e a'la-hazrat-e ferdous-ashyani sahebqeran-e thani shahjahan taba tharahu sana 1076 “The pure grave of His Most Exalted Majesty, Dweller in Paradise, Second Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction, Shah Jahan, Padshah, may its soil be fragrant! Year 1076 [AD 1666]” Though paintings that illustrate the south end of Shah Jahan’s cenotaph with its epigraph, such as the next painting in the present catalogue, no. 81, were part of the standard repertoire of views chosen for illustration in the watercolours depicting the pietra dura inlays at the Taj Mahal, we have never encountered an image of such force and power as this extraordinary painting. The double-point perspective and the recession into the pitch black darkness of the

painting’s deep space are beautifully handled, while the pietra dura inlays of tiers of flowers are as exquisitely detailed as the finest examples of such architectural studies.

The viewpoint sets the eye slightly to one side at mid level, so that we see the east side of the cenotaph receding away from us, glimpse the top of the platform on each side, but view the sarcophagus and its pen case slightly from below and are thus awed by its grandiloquent power. The decision not to depict the decoration on the top of the platform and the side of the sarcophagus aids immensely in the streamlining of the image.

Also very unusual is the use of shadow.

The shadow cast by the lowest step of the tiered plinth on the unadorned top of the platform, and the careful shading of the side of the sarcophagus, give the cenotaph a weight and substance rarely encountered in the ethereal depictions of the pietra dura inlays, where the white marble cenotaphs or delicate details of their decoration are seen floating against chaste white grounds.

The black background also throws the shape of the cenotaph with its protruding pen case into dynamic high relief so that we study its muscular form before we appreciate its decoration, and notice the sharp contrast of inky black with glistening white before we appreciate the delicate colouring of the inlays.

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Will Kwiatkowski for his reading of the inscription in this painting.

81 S O U T H E L E VAT I O N O F S H A H J A H A N ’ S C E N O TA P H

INDIA (AGRA), 1810-1820 HEIGHT: 48.5 CM WIDTH: 60 CM

Opaque watercolour on paper watermarked E & P 1801.

The initials E & P on the watermark stand for Edmeades and Pine, the Kent paper manufacturers established

by Robert Edmeades and Thomas Pine. Their papers were used by amongst others, William Blake for his Songs of Innocence and Experience.

Inscribed to the bottom right: Provenance:

“End of the Emperor Shah Jahan’s Tomb Taj Agra No 2”

The Edmonstone Family Collection,

This architectural study depicts the pietra dura decoration of the south elevation or foot end of Shah Jahan’s cenotaph at the Taj Mahal. The cenotaph consists of a sarcophagus block with a projecting moulding to the top, surmounted by Shah Jahan’s symbolic pen case. The block rests on a splayed triple-tiered plinth placed on a wide rectangular platform.

Four generations of the Edmonstone family

Duntreath Castle

have been associated with the East India Company and the Indian Civil Service.

Neil Benjamin Edmonstone, fifth son of Sir Archibald Edmonstone of Duntreath, was the private secretary to successive Governor-Generals of India in the early nineteenth century. Edmonstone began his illustrious political career as acting private secretary to Lord Mornington, better known as Lord Wellesley, when in 1798 Wellesley

The pietra dura inlay consists almost entirely of flowers and scrollwork, without any formal inscriptions. The only exception is the epitaph written ˛ in nasta liq on the lowest step of the tiered plinth as depicted here:

became the new Governor-General of India.

In 1801 Edmonstone was appointed secretary to the Governor-General and the government of India in the secret, political and foreign department. He played a vital role in the formation of the plans to crush the Marathas, as he had done in the war

marqad-e motahhar-e a'la-hazrat-e ferdous-ashyani sahebqeran-e thani shahjahan taba tharahu sana 1076

against Tipu Sultan.

Sir John Kaye described Edmonstone as one of the most valuable officials and far-seeing

“The pure grave of His Most Exalted Majesty, Dweller in Paradise, Second Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction, Shah Jahan, Padshah, may its soil be fragrant! Year 1076 [AD 1666]”

statesmen which the Indian Civil Service has ever produced. Edmonstone continued to hold his office after the departure of Lord Wellesley and was private secretary under Lord Cornwallis. When Lord Minto arrived as Governor-General in 1807, Edmonstone

According to Ebba Koch, who has made a detailed study of the different varieties of floral motifs used at the Taj Mahal, the decoration of Shah Jahan’s cenotaph is distinguished by its use of botanically accurate flowers.1 Decorating the end of the platform are two types of flowering plant.

Koch identifies the first flower as a double-tiered crown imperial or Fritillaria imperialis, a species that grows in the Himalaya region.2 This alternates with a lily-derived plant with small star-shaped flowers.3 The sarcophagus block is decorated with baluster arcades of botanically accurate red poppies alternating with yellow lilies.4

also acted as his private secretary.

Neil Benjamin’s second son, also named Neil Benjamin Edmonstone, born in 1813, followed his father into the Indian Civil Service and became private secretary to Lord Canning. He was extremely influential during the Indian Mutiny and was made Lieutenant–Governor of the north-western provinces in 1859.

References: 1. Ebba Koch, The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006, p. 171.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

82 A F U L L - S I Z E D W AT E R C O L O U R O F T H E P I E T R A D U R A D E C O R AT I O N F R O M T H E T O P O F T H E C E N O TA P H O F S H A H J A H A N I N T H E TA J M A H A L

INDIA (AGRA), 1810-1820 HEIGHT: 184 CM WIDTH: 51 CM

Opaque watercolour with pencil, pen and grey ink, heightened with white on three sheets of paper joined together. Two of the three sheets of paper are watermarked E & P 1805.

Inscribed to the lower right corner: “Top of the Emperor’s Tomb” This full-sized watercolour depicts the pietra dura inlay on the top of Shah Jahan’s cenotaph at the Taj Mahal. The designs and quality of the pietra dura work on the cenotaphs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal are amongst the most beautiful of all imperial Mughal decorative schemes, unsurpassed in the skill of the execution and of utmost delicacy and refinement in the drawing. Indeed, the foremost architectural historian of India, Percy Brown, has stated that “So sensitive and yet so firm is the drawing that it resembles the spirited sweep of a brush rather than the slow laborious cutting of a chisel”. 1 The designs on Shah Jahan’s cenotaph are a testament to his obsession with fine craftsmanship. The floral sprays are tightly drawn with a crisp movement, and the flaming halo or sunburst (shamsa) to the head panel of the cenotaph seems to spin with extraordinary delicacy. The splendid sunburst alludes to the solar symbolism that played an important role in the imperial ideology of Shah Jahan; he was a sun king in the Persian as well as the Indian tradition, and a sunburst decorates the apex of the dome within the tomb chamber.2 Within the sunburst is an eight-petalled flower from which radiate eight floral sprays composed of two alternating flower types.

Surrounding the sunburst are floral arabesques that take lyre forms in each of the spandrels.

Flowers and leaves on scrolling stems surround Shah Jahan’s symbolic pen case, here indicated by a rectangular blind cartouche. The two S-scrolls that flank the pen case resemble delicate cornucopias from which spill an abundance of ornately wrought flowers that include poppies and sunflowers. Unfurling buds, just-opening flowers, single leaves, tendrils, calyxes and clusters of fronds punctuate the sinuous curves of the scrolls that terminate in dangling lilies. Above, two tiers of floriated tendrils form an elegant double cusped arch with a composite lotus palmette at its centre.

At the foot of the cenotaph is a graceful composite plant with delicate red flowers and buds rising from a cluster of twisting leaves.

This is framed by interlocking scrollwork enriched with miniature flowers and bunches of grapes, an imperial motif which also appears in the baldachin of the throne of Shah Jahan in the Red Fort at Delhi.3 A full-sized depiction of the top of Shah Jahan’s cenotaph commissioned

by Maria, Lady Nugent in 1812 and now in the British Library is illustrated in Ebba Koch, The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006, p. 173, fig. 243. Another full-sized watercolour is published in Spink, A Journey Through India: Company School Pictures, 1996, pp. 32-33, cat. no. 13. An early nineteenth century embroidered silk panel of this very design is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (IS 34-1987).4 Provenance: The Edmonstone Family Collection, Duntreath Castle

References: 1. Pratapaditya Pal, Janice Leoshko, Stephen Markel and Joseph M. Dye, III, Romance of the Taj Mahal, 1989, p. 131.

2.Ebba Koch, The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006, p. 171 and p. 162, fig. 228.

3. Ibid., p. 171.

4. Illustrated in Pal et al, 1989, p. 238, fig. 256.

83 D E S I G N O N T H E T O P O F S H A H J A H A N ’ S C E N O TA P H

INDIA (AGRA), CIRCA 1820 HEIGHT: 75 CM WIDTH: 54 CM

Opaque watercolour on paper watermarked J WHATMAN; on the reverse is the WHATMAN crest below the watermark.

Inscribed on the right margin, “No. 3 The Middle”.

This architectural study shows a detail of the design from the top of the cenotaph of Shah Jahan. Pietra dura inlays depict flowers and leaves on scrolling stems, surrounding a rectangular blind cartouche in which Shah Jahan’s pen case would have sat.

The two S-scrolls that flank the pen case resemble delicate cornucopias from which spill an abundance of ornately wrought flowers that include poppies and sunflowers.

Unfurling buds, just-opening flowers, single leaves, tendrils, calyxes and clusters of fronds punctuate the sinuous curves of the scrolls that terminate in dangling lilies. Above, two tiers of floriated tendrils form an elegant double cusped arch with a composite lotus palmette at its centre.

According to Janice Leoshko, the use of the pietra dura technique in India has been a matter of great controversy for years. Some have claimed it was derived from Florentine traditions, others that it developed independently in India.1 Recently, it has been cogently argued by Ebba Koch and other

scholars that the technique was indeed Italian in origin, but it was modified by Indian traditions of craftsmanship. Koch observes that the technique was soon mastered to such perfection by the lapidaries of Shah Jahan that in its complexity, subtlety and elegance their pietra dura work far surpasses that of the Italian artists.2 The argument for the Italian origins of pietra dura hinges on the recognition of two related types of inlay. 3 Although conventional stone inlay had been known in India for a long time, the practice of pietra dura, which involves inlaying stones of extreme hardness, has in every instance of its development been traced back to an Italian source, and it is likely that European craftsmen taught it to the Mughal artists.4 European artists were employed at the Mughal court and many foreign visitors brought precious gifts for the emperor.

Red Fort in Dehli. Such examples clearly demonstrate the role played by Florentine artists in the development of Mughal pietra dura.

Leoshko observes that both normal stone inlay and hardstone inlay are found in the tomb of I’timad ud-Daula built by Nur Jahan between 1622 and 1628, but it was in the earliest projects of Shah Jahan’s reign that pietra dura was perfected and then adopted as an important means of decoration.

Pietra dura was the ideal technique to be employed at the court of an emperor who would appreciate both the high level of skill required and the jewel-like qualities of its finest products.7

Provenance: Terence McInerney, New York

Exhibited: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Romance of the Taj Mahal, 1989.

The technique originated in Florence where it was called commesso di pietre dure or “composition of hard stones” because it involved the inlaying of not just a single stone but of many.5 In Mughal India, the simple intarsia technique of inlaying a single stone into a stone of contrasting colour, and the far more complex and difficult technique of cutting hundreds of stones to compose pictorial images, were both called parchin kari.6 In The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006, p. 92, fig. 116, Koch illustrates the mix of Florentine pietra dura and Mughal parchin kari on the back wall of Shah Jahan’s ˛ throne in the Diwan-i Amm of the

178

Published: Pratapaditya Pal, Janice Leoshko, Joseph M. Dye, III and Stephen Markel, Romance of the Taj Mahal, 1989, p. 132, fig. 132.

References: 1. Janice Leoshko, “Mausoleum for an Empress”, in Pratapaditya Pal, Janice Leoshko, Stephen Markel and Joseph M. Dye, III, Romance of the Taj Mahal, 1989, chapter 2, pp. 63 and 66.

2. Ebba Koch, The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006, p. 92.

3. Leoshko, 1989, p. 66.

4. Ibid.

5. Koch, 1996, p. 91.

6. Ibid.

7. Leoshko, p. 66.

84 C O R N E R D E TA I L F R O M T H E P L AT F O R M O F S H A H J A H A N ’ S C E N O TA P H

INDIA (AGRA), CIRCA 1820 HEIGHT: 102 CM WIDTH: 74 CM

Pencil and watercolour on English paper.

Inscribed to the margin on the lower left: “No. 4. The plate of which No. 2 is elevated & which lays horizontally on No. 1”.

This large and impressive architectural study depicts a corner detail of the pietra dura inlay on the top of the white marble platform on which the cenotaph of Shah Jahan sits at the Taj Mahal. Inner and outer borders of scrolling vines and flowers, framed by black margins, enclose a wide band of interlinked floral quatrefoils and circles formed by vines, leaves and flowers.

The naturalistic lily-like flowers with curling stamens and twisting leaves, accompanied by stems of single or triple flower buds, are contrasted with grey floral palmettes resembling spear heads of steel. The angular forms traced by the cusped strap-work hint at stirrups, while the circles at the centre of the quatrefoil tracery resemble rings of iron. A vaguely

martial and metallic air, appropriate for a great emperor, is thus introduced amidst the soft and delicate paradisiacal flowers.

The scrolling vines are not continuous but made of sections variegated in colour and thickness that loop, hook or hinge around adjacent elements to chain the whole edifice together.

The supple spring to the lines achieved by the finesse of the pietra dura inlays, so that the vines alternate between taut tension and free flow, is beautifully captured by the painter.

A photograph showing the platform of Shah Jahan’s cenotaph adjacent to Mumtaz Mahal’s platform with its closely related but contrasting pietra dura design, can be seen in Jean-Louis Nou and Amina Okada, Taj Mahal, 1993, pp. 42-43.

A similar drawing of a corner detail from the top of the platform of Shah Jahan’s cenotaph, is illustrated in Ebba Koch, The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006, p. 238, fig. 362. This is from a circa 1812 album of drawings that belonged to Maria, Lady Nugent, and is now in the British Library in London.

The large scale of the present drawing suggests that it may be close to life size.

181

85 C O R N E R D E TA I L F R O M T H E P L AT F O R M O F M U M TA Z M A H A L’ S C E N O TA P H

INDIA (AGRA), CIRCA 1820

variations have been beautifully captured by the painter.

HEIGHT: 103 CM WIDTH: 74 CM

Pencil and watercolour on English paper.

Inscribed to the centre at the bottom: “No. 3. The plate of which No. 2 is elevated & which lays horizontally on No. 1”.

This large and impressive architectural study depicts a corner detail of the pietra dura inlay on the top of the platform on which the cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal sits at the Taj Mahal.

Inner and outer borders of scrolling vines and flowers, framed by black margins, enclose a wide band of interlinked lyre forms, cusped cartouches, tiered balusters, and waisted and footed vases formed by vines, leaves and flowers.

Naturalistic flowers that resemble lilies and irises in the scrolling borders and to the upper right corner of the central band, are juxtaposed with a striking four-petalled flower drawn from the imagination and tied like a bow. The inner surfaces of the petals of this spectacular flower have variegated veins, speckles and marbled effects, over which the dark red outer petals are folded then knotted in the centre.

According to Ebba Koch in The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006, p. 92, it was H. Voysey, who undertook the first scientific study of the inlaid stones in 1825. Voysey noted that a single flower could contain a hundred stones or more, each cut to the exact shape required, then highly polished.

Voysey identified lapis lazuli or lajward (blue), chalcedonic quartzes such as jasper (reddish), heliotrope or bloodstone (dark green spotted with red), agate (brownish red), ˛ chalcedony, carnelian or aqiq (brownish red), chlorite (green), yellow and striped marble, various limestones and many more.

Koch illustrates on p. 93, fig. 117, a close-up photograph of flowers from the cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal, inlaid with a palette of coloured stones closely related to the stones used in the corner of the platform illustrated in this painting.

Koch observes in the caption to her photo that the banded translucent stones are agate, the spotted, opaque ones are jasper, and the greens include chrysoprase.

A photograph showing the platform of Mumtaz Mahal’s cenotaph adjacent to Shah Jahan’s platform with its closely related but contrasting pietra dura design, can be seen in Jean-Louis Nou and Amina Okada, Taj Mahal, 1993, pp. 42-43.

The baluster and vase forms are similarly composed of a rich palette of different colours and textures imparted by the many different semi-precious stones used in the pietra dura technique. These myriad

The large scale of the present drawing suggests that it may be close to life size.

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86 SPECIMENS OF THE MOSAICS

INDIA (AGRA), CIRCA 1815 HEIGHT: 53.5 CM WIDTH: 70 CM

Pencil, pen and ink and watercolour on paper watermarked RUSE & TURNERS 1813, within a black lined border.

Inscribed within a cartouche to the centre of the lower border, “Specimens of the Mosaics”.

Numbered “8” in pencil to the upper right corner.

This architectural study depicts the pietra dura designs on the top of the cenotaphs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal at the Taj Mahal.

The quality of the pietra dura inlay on the two cenotaphs surpasses all other decoration at the Taj Mahal.

Whereas the decoration on Shah Jahan’s cenotaph is primarily floral, Mumtaz’s cenotaph is decorated with verses from the Qur’an.

The designs on Shah Jahan’s cenotaph are a testament to his obsession with fine craftsmanship.

The floral sprays are tightly drawn with a crisp movement and the flaming halo or sunburst to the head of the cenotaph seems to spin with extraordinary delicacy. Flowers and leaves on scrolling stems surround Shah Jahan’s symbolic pen case.

The rectangular pen case is inlaid with a diaper of leaves surrounded by a frame of serrated green leaves, the sharp points of which echo the tips of the flames in the halo, thus making the pen case also seem to be aflame. Exquisite S-scrolls with cornucopias from which spill an abundance of flowers, flank the pen case to either side. At the foot of

the cenotaph is a graceful plant with delicate red flowers and buds rising from a cluster of twisting leaves.

Inscribed on the top and the sides of the cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal are Qur’anic verses in formal sulus script; their common theme is to comfort the soul of Mumtaz with the prospect of Paradise.1 The programme begins at the north (head) end with the invocation, “In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy, O Living O Eternal, I beseech Thy mercy!

Said the Blessed and Great God”; and continues with verse 30 of Sura 41 (Fussilat or Ha-Mim, “The Explanation”); and part of verse 7 and the whole of verse 8 of Sura 40 (Ghafir): “Indeed, those who have said, ‘Our Lord is Allah’ and then remained on a right course - the angels will descend upon them, [saying], ‘Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised’ (Qur'an 41:30). [Those who have believed, saying,] ‘Our Lord is Allah’ and then remained on a right course - the angels will descend upon them, [saying], ‘Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised. Our Lord, and admit them to gardens of perpetual residence which You have promised them and whoever was righteous among their fathers, their spouses and their offspring. Indeed, it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. (Qur'an 40: part of 7-8).” 2

in the basement below, reached by a stairway from the southern entrance room. Here in the centre stand the two lower cenotaphs, similar in form to the upper cenotaphs but covered with different pietra dura designs: calligraphy with further passages from the Qur’an for Mumtaz, and smaller, simpler flowers for Shah Jahan who once again has a pen case.

A similar drawing in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is illustrated in Mildred Archer, Company Paintings: Indian Paintings of the British Period, 1992, p. 140, no. 111(8). On p. 139, Archer notes that drawings of the inlay work on the cenotaphs were sometimes used as patterns for the embroidery on shawls, an example of which is at the V & A, (IS 34-1987).

Provenance: Lady Hastings The Marquis of Bute

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Will Kwiatkowski for his reading of the inscriptions on the cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal.

References: 1. Ebba Koch, The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006, p. 171.

The upper cenotaphs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal in the central tomb chamber of the Taj Mahal are positioned directly above the actual tombs in the lower tomb chamber

189

2. The translation given here is from Saheeh International, The Qur’an: English Meanings and Notes, Riyadh, Al-Muntada Al-Islami Trust, 2001-2011. See also the translations given in Koch, 2006, pp. 171 and 225.

87 THE TOMB OF THE EMPEROR

INDIA (AGRA), CIRCA 1815 HEIGHT: 53.5 CM WIDTH: 70 CM

Pencil, pen and black ink and watercolour on paper watermarked RUSE & TURNERS 1813.

Inscribed with the title “The Tomb of the Emperor” in a cartouche to the lower centre.

Numbered “6” in pencil to the upper right corner.

This architectural study depicts the side elevation of the cenotaph of Shah Jahan, with fine details of the floral pietra dura inlays in the white marble.

Decorating the sides of the platform are two types of flowering plant.

Ebba Koch identifies the first species as a double-tiered crown imperial or Fritillaria imperialis, a species that grows in the Himalaya region.1 This alternates with a lily-derived plant with small star-shaped flowers.2 The sarcophagus block is decorated on all sides with baluster arcades of

botanically accurate red poppies that alternate with yellow lilies.3 The projecting moulding to the top of the sarcophagus block and the triple-tiered base are decorated with friezes of intertwining vines from which hang stylised pendant flowers. The pen case signifies that the tomb has a male occupant.

accentuate the stars. A similar drawing in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is illustrated in Mildred Archer, Company Paintings: Indian Paintings of the British Period, 1992, p. 138, no. 111(6).

Provenance: Lady Hastings The Marquis of Bute

The marble floor surrounding the cenotaphs is made up of interlocking eight-pointed stars and four-pointed crosses. Here the artist has brought out the four-pointed crosses, though other paintings choose to

190

References: 1. Ebba Koch, The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006, p. 171.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

88 THE TOMB OF THE BEGUM

INDIA (AGRA), CIRCA 1815 HEIGHT: 53.5 CM WIDTH: 70 CM

Pencil, pen and black ink and watercolour on paper watermarked J WHATMAN 1813.

Inscribed with the title “The Tomb of the Begum” in a cartouche to the lower centre.

Numbered “7 “ in pencil to the upper right corner.

This architectural study depicts the elevation of the east side of the cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal, with fine details of the pietra dura inlays. The calligraphy consists of verses from the Qur’an, chosen to comfort the soul of Mumtaz with the prospect of paradise.

faces the radiance of pleasure. They will be given to drink [pure] wine which was sealed. The last of it is musk. So for this let the competitors compete. And its mixture is of Tasneem, a spring from which those near [to Allah] drink.” 3

“Indeed the righteous will be in pleasure, on adorned couches, observing. You will recognize in their

191

Provenance: Lady Hastings

Framing the calligraphy are bands of interlacing floral designs, arranged in horizontal tiers that decorate the overhanging top, the splayed triple-tiered foot, and the wide platform on which the cenotaph sits.

The marble floor is paved with long and short cartouches, surrounded by

The inscriptions shown in this view are from Qur’an Sura 83 (al-Mutaffifin), verses 22-28 (in part):

a pattern of eight-pointed stars and four-pointed crosses. Here the artist has brought out the eight-pointed stars, though other paintings choose to accentuate the crosses.

The Marquis of Bute

Reference: 1. The inscription was read by Will Kwiatkowski, using the translation from Saheeh International, The Qur’an: English Meanings and Notes, Riyadh, Al-Muntada Al-Islami Trust, 2001-2011.

89 F O U R P A N E L S F R O M T H E C E N O TA P H S C R E E N AT T H E TA J M A H A L

INDIA (AGRA), CIRCA 1815 HEIGHT: 54 CM WIDTH: 70 CM

Pencil, pen and ink and watercolour on paper watermarked RUSE & TURNERS 1813, within a black lined border with a blind cartouche to the centre at the bottom.

This architectural study depicts four panels of pietra dura designs from the uprights of the octagonal screen that surrounds the cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan at the Taj Mahal. Stylised flowers in formal arrangements within cusped cartouches decorate the borders framing the entrance arch and the pierced white marble jalis that form the screen enclosure. In keeping with the floral designs of the pietra dura inlays, the jalis of the cenotaph screen are the only jalis at the Taj Mahal carved with scrolling floral arabesques, all other jalis in the monument being geometric in design.

Floral cartouche panels of similar design are illustrated in Ebba Koch, The Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens of Agra, 2006, p. 172, figs. 234-240. Koch, who has done a detailed study of the various types of flowers used in the decoration of the Taj Mahal, notes seven types of flowering plants depicted in the screen cartouches,

of which four are shown in this painting, flower types F, G, H and I in her classification.

Reading our painting from left to right, the two plants on the left, resembling a type of lily with stamens and one with blossoms like honeysuckle, come from the outer faces of the corner posts of the screen. The corner posts mark the turn of the screen wall, where two sides of the octagon join.

The two plants on the right, a martagon lily and a columbine, both with drooping petals and thin stems around which the flowers entwine, come from the outer faces of the two central posts positioned between the three jalis that make up each side of the screen. On the screen, the decoration is sequenced with vertical alternating pairs of flowers such as the two pairs depicted here.

A similar painting by Shaikh Latif depicting “Three Panels from the Cenotaph Screen in the Taj Mahal�, from an album prepared for the artist Robert Home in 1820, is illustrated in Pratapaditya Pal, Janice Leoshko, Joseph M. Dye, III and Stephen Markel, Romance of the Taj Mahal, 1989, p. 65, fig. 53. This shows three of the flower types in our painting, without the lily on the left.

Provenance: Lady Hastings The Marquis of Bute

90 T H E C E N O TA P H O F A K B A R AT S I K A N D R A

INDIA (AGRA), 1810-1815 HEIGHT: 55 CM WIDTH: 75.5 CM

Pen, ink and opaque watercolour on paper watermarked J WHATMAN 1804.

Inscribed to the bottom right, “Acbêr’s Tomb”.

Reputed to have been designed by Akbar himself, his tomb at Sikandra lies on the road to Agra. Blending Persian and Hindu elements, the mausoleum was begun but never completed in his own lifetime, and was instead finished by his son Jahangir between 1605 and 1613.

The site at Sikandra, eight kilometres north-west of Agra, is named after Sultan Sikander Lodi. The upper cenotaph of Akbar depicted in this painting is situated at the top of his tomb, in the courtyard of the terrace on the fifth and uppermost floor of the mausoleum.

Akbar was an energetic and innovative ruler who succeeded in being a significant unifying force in India. During Akbar's reign he encouraged a synthesis of Hindu and Islamic artistic traditions and his tomb may be seen as a culmination of this style. The tomb is set in a vast square chahar bagh or four-part garden plan, divided into quarters by red sandstone causeways containing water channels, interspersed with fountains and ponds. The mausoleum is constructed in five storeys. The actual burial chamber lies deep within the building, and on the fifth storey, open to the sky, is the upper cenotaph. Placed exactly above the grave further below, it is carved from a single block of marble and is inscribed in Arabic script with the ninety-nine names of Allah, in Persian with his epigraph, and in relief with intricate floral motifs.

This architectural study presents the delicate carving in all its complexity and detail. The cenotaph consists of a rectangular sarcophagus block surmounted by Akbar’s symbolic pen case which is also profusely decorated with relief carving. On the sides, horizontal bands of interlocking cartouches with calligraphy alternate with bands of cartouches containing floral designs. Each cartouche takes the form of an elongated hexagon extended by star points above and below. The sarcophagus block sits on a tiered plinth with a thick splayed step above three thinner ones, the last being a plain step with no carving.

The cenotaph sits on a square platform decorated with diamond-shaped patterns of alternating white marble, black slate, ochre yellow sandstone and rare mottled brown fossilised stones. In this painting we do not see the surface of the platform but only its side in elevation, decorated with the diamond grid interspersed with green semi-precious stone rectangular columns within black borders. Above is a horizontal frieze with a repeated border of cusped acanthus leaves.

A similar drawing of circa 1820 by Shaikh Latif is in the British Library.

This includes a section of the courtyard floor around the platform, which is also paved with the white, black, yellow and brown diamond grid. Another drawing in the British Museum dating to circa 1817 shows a wider view of the upper terrace with the cenotaph placed on its platform, the surrounding courtyard floor, and the arcade of the terrace with alcoves and windows covered by jali screens.

Provenance: The Edmonstone Family Collection, Duntreath Castle

91 MUGHAL FLOWERS INDIA (MUGHAL), CIRCA 1650 LENGTH: 141 CM WIDTH: 52 CM

A finely woven section of a wool, cotton and silk carpet, in shades of green, yellow, blue and red featuring a variety of both real and composite floral sprays.1 To the top and left is a further meandering floral border.

Some of the flowers used in imperial Mughal design are immediately recognisable such as the martagon

lily seen here in the left corner with its elegant drooping flower-heads.

The other three flowers resemble a poppy, an iris and a carnation, and flanking them are smaller flowering plants and tiny cloud bands all highlighted against the rich dark red ground. The border features stylised floral rosettes set amongst scrolling leafy tendrils.

This fragment belongs to a category of Mughal carpet that has become known as a “shaped carpet”. Usually made in pairs, its basic rectangular form has a curved or stepped arch

196

along one side, with arms of various shapes at both ends made to fit around a central space. Their exact function has not been established, but they are often thought to have enclosed the base of a fountain, a throne or some other architectural element.2 This particular fragmentary section formed the right end of one such carpet, the original orientation being vertical.

Agra, was one of the main carpet making centres during the reign of the emperor Akbar. According to Amina Okada, who discusses a similar carpet fragment in the Collection AEDTA in Paris, they are known as “Jaipur carpets” because they appear to have been commissioned for the old Amber palace that was completed about 1630, and then transferred to the Jaipur palace around 1875.3

These shaped carpets have been associated with the Jaipur royal collection, though they were probably made in Lahore, which together with

A. J. D. Campbell noted sixteen such shaped carpets in the Jaipur collection in 1929, when under the auspices of the Victoria and Albert

Museum in London, he studied the collection of antique carpets in the Jaipur Palace.4 By 1973 about half of these shaped carpets in the collection had been given away.

Probably there were several more in fragmentary condition such as this example as quite a number of fragmentary examples are known from public and private collections, the most notable of the latter being that in the collection of the late Krishna Riboud at AEDTA. For two examples of complete carpets, see Daniel Walker, Flowers

Underfoot: Indian Carpets of the Mughal Era, 1997, p. 104, fig. 101, cat. no. 25, now in the Cincinnati Art Museum, and fig. 102, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

main influence, the intoxicating beauty of the local flora greatly affecting his taste in design.

the suggestion that pairs of such carpets would have flanked fountains is not entirely convincing as the orientation of the flowering plant argues against this.

The flowers would only be properly

The naturalistic form of the floral decoration that is evident throughout the arts of the Mughals, began to develop in the period of the emperor Jahangir, and was partly influenced by European herbals, which were known to the Mughal court artists. However, Jahangir’s visit to Kashmir in the spring of 1620 was probably the

Provenance:

viewed by someone sitting within the

Private London Collection 1979-2007

void, perhaps on a throne on a raised

Private American Collection 2007-2012

dais, as in the case of a painting of Aurangzeb shortly after his accession,

References:

197

which Walker illustrates on

1. Wool on cotton foundation, triple-wefted

p. 13, fig. 4.

with silk middle weft, asymmetrically

3. Amina Okada and Marie-Hélène

knotted wool.

Guelton, with a preface by Krishnâ Riboud,

2. Daniel Walker analyses these various

Le Motif floral dans les tissus moghols: Inde

theories in Flowers Under Foot: Indian Carpets

XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, 1995, pl. 6.

of the Mughal Era, 1997, p. 105. For Walker,

4. Ibid.

92 EMBROIDERED TENT HANGING

INDIA (MUGHAL), CIRCA 1700 LENGTH: 177 CM WIDTH: 70 CM

A tent hanging (qanat) of red quilted cotton embroidered in polychrome silk threads with a design of a cusped arch containing an elegant flowering plant in a vase. The very fine chain stitch is executed in subtly varying shades of indigo blue, green, yellow, and white. The colours of the embroidery are not shaded, but the sensitive working of the lines of chain stitch filling the petals and leaves gives a subtle play of light on the sheen of the silk, suggesting a greater range of colours than have

actually been used.1 A golden greenish yellow and the sparkling white hint at gold and silver thread.

The quilting is in a fine diaper in double running stitch over the ground, and the dark red cotton makes a perfect foil to the delicate tints of embroidery.2 The sumptuousness of effect, achieved by the most economical of means through technical finesse and perfect judgement of colour, is remarkable.

The cusped arch is lightly outlined in white and decorated with a fine scrolling indigo tendril with white quatrefoil flowers. The plant within the arch bears twelve flowers, perhaps stylised hibiscus or composite flowers, formally

199

arranged in groups of three amid leafy stems and half-open flower buds. The flowers have white petals with indigo centres and veins, and yellow centres. The serrated leaves are golden greenish yellow outlined and veined in a darker green.

A formalised lotus is placed on the point of the arch; the spandrels are filled with small plants. The arch is framed by alternating narrow borders of quatrefoil white flowers and wider borders of lotuses on a scrolling vine.

This embroidered qanat panel originated as a single motif within a repeating design. Further panels with the same design from this group of embroidered qanats can

be seen in the Calico Museum, Ahmedabad;3 the Victoria and Albert Museum, London;4 the al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait National Museum;5 Yale University Art Gallery;6 and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.7 Another qanat panel was published in the Simon Ray 2005 Indian & Islamic Works of Art catalogue, pp.

142-145, cat. no. 62. This panel was exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and published in Robert Skelton et al, The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule, 1982, p. 86, no. 142.

It was also exhibited at the Musée d’art et d’histoire, Geneva, 1985, and published in Treasures of Islam, 1985, p. 335, no. 348. This is now in the David Collection, Copenhagen.

According to Rosemary Crill, contemporary with the fine export embroideries that were made in Gujarat were textiles made in the same region for the Mughal court.8 We know from the A’in-i Akbari by Abu’l-Fazl, the record of Akbar’s reign, that special workshops (karkhanas) for all types of textiles and other crafts were set up in the royal compounds, and a later observer, François Bernier, describes in 1663 how one of these workshops was given over exclusively to embroidery.9 A striking feature of many of these embroideries is the use of the same silk chain stitch seen in many of the export pieces although a considerable amount of satin stitch in floss silk is also apparent.10 The designs of Mughal pieces are in most cases quite distinct from those made for the European market, as they often make use of the favourite Mughal motif of the single flowering plant within a cusped arch or niche as in the present panel.11 The design of the present panel can also be related to contemporary dyed cotton qanats in which the main flower-heads are block-printed and the stems hand-painted, as well as qanat panels with gold flowers painted on red velvet.12

During the reign of Shah Jahan (1627-1658), the intricate and fantastical textile designs previously in vogue at the court of the Emperor Jahangir (1605-1627) were replaced by more delicate renderings of single plants. Mughal designs were heavily influenced by the Dutch herbalist paintings documented as being in circulation at the Indian courts from early in the seventeenth century.

lined with chintz, brocades or embroidered hangings such as the present. Lined and quilted hangings were also sometimes hung in doorways and windows of palaces or used to curtain off open palace colonnades in the cold season.

Provenance: The Goodbody Family Collection

Paintings from the reign of Aurangzeb (1658-1707) show the continued use of the naturalistic floral motif, although the interpretation of the plants can be seen to evolve, from the ostentatious use of metal thread of the early years of his rule to the relatively spartan textiles of his later more puritanical years, with their expressive but more austere use of silk and diapered cotton.

Throughout the remainder of the eighteenth century the use of the botanical motif continued to dominate Indian textile design, with increasing stylisation. The aesthetic of the flower style of Shah Jahan became ubiquitous in both the domestic Indian culture and its highly successful export textile industry.

Stylistically, this qanat panel appears to belong to the latter years of the Aurangzeb reign with its restrained materials and delicately drawn flowers, and probably dates from around 1700.

The Goodbody Family were in the jute business in Ireland, importing from India in the 1880s. This textile is believed to have come into the family’s collection before 1920. There are Goodbody descendants still living in the United States and the textile has come through this American branch of the family. The American Goodbodys also had a great uncle who travelled extensively in the Middle East, from whom they directly inherited works of art.

Exhibited: Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire The British Library, London 9th November 2012 to 2nd April 2013

References: 1. John Irwin and Margaret Hall, Indian Embroideries: Historic Textiles of India at the Calico Museum, vol. II, 1973, pp. 13-15, no. 9, pl. III. Irwin and Hall illustrate a hanging of two panels from the same group in the Calico Museum, acc. no. 142, each with an identical design to the present panel.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

The qanat panels formed movable screens used to define the boundaries and decorate the interiors of the peripatetic Mughal courts. Descended from Central Asian nomads, the Mughals were in constant migration, setting up formal and intricately designed camps throughout northern India. Such qanats were usually red, the imperial colour, creating a “vast assemblage of red tents” as described in the A’in-i Akbari. Even on the move between cities or on military campaigns, the living quarters of the Mughal emperor and his nobles were extremely lavish, and although the exteriors of the tents had plain red cotton exteriors, the interiors were

201

4. Published in Rosemary Crill, Indian Embroidery, 1999, p. 42 no. 24. Crill dates the Victoria and Albert Museum hanging of two panels, inv. no. IM 62-1936, to circa 1700, a date which we have similarly assigned to the present panel.

5. Also comprising two panels, inv. no.

LNS 115 Ta, this is published in Esin Atil, Islamic Art & Patronage, 1990, pp. 292-293, no. 104.

6. See Loretta N. Staples, A Sense of Pattern: Textile Masterworks from the Yale University Art Gallery, 1981, no. 26, inv. no. 1937.533.

7. Inv. no. 33.65.9.

8. Crill, 1999, pp. 9-10.

9. Ibid.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

12. Irwin and Hall, 1973, p. 14.

93 P O P P I E S A N D PA R R O T S

INDIA (MUGHAL, PROBABLY DELHI OR LAHORE), LATE 17TH/EARLY 18TH CENTURY

media other than sculpture: paintings, including the borders of albums, textiles, carpets and stone. Conventionally, as here, only one plant type is represented on a single panel. However these naturalistic plant forms soon became hybrid versions and increasingly fanciful, one reason being that they became elements of architecture.

HEIGHT: 153 CM WIDTH: 72 CM

This elegant light red sandstone architectural panel is finely carved in relief with an asymmetrical design of poppies and parakeets contained within a plain border to each side.

Parakeets feeding from the upper blooms and two smaller birds in the lower tendrils may have metaphorical significance, possibly suggesting the risks and pleasures associated with opiates extracted from this beautiful plant but these cheerful birds also represent the joy of life. In this instance the small size of the parrots in comparison to the poppies illustrates the sculptor’s imagination as a familiar form, the plant, appears much larger than life-sized. Perhaps the intention was to express the belief that the beauty of the natural world outweighs the greatest material wealth.

Throughout the Qur’an there are passages that discuss this theme.

From a central fluted double-ended vase placed to the bottom of the panel, a series of large cusped acanthus style leaves emerge. From here, three thick leafy stems rise up, each finishing in large poppy sprays. The central stem splits and terminates in four flower-heads of varying sizes positioned to the top of the panel, each competing for space within the plain ground. To the top corners is a pair of confronted parakeets, each perched precariously upon a poppy spray, and feasting from within. To each side of the central stem is a further spray with a large single poppy, bending inwards on itself under the weight of the flower. A smaller pair of S-shaped poppy sprays emerges from the bottom of the vase with further smaller parakeets busily feeding, again undisturbed as if in a captured moment.

According to George Michell, the naturalism of the panel, the free-flowing petals and leaves, and slight lack of symmetry betray a date somewhere towards the end of the seventeenth century or beginning of the eighteenth century, with Delhi or Lahore being the most likely area of production. It compares in spirit with the naturalism of the flowers in the jali screen in the Delhi mosque, illustrated in George Michell and Amit Pasricha, Mughal Architecture & Gardens, 2011, p. 111.

The large poppies depicted are probably one of the flamboyant Papaver orientale species, with a smaller plant of a subspecies at each side below. The motif of a single flower set against a plain background is quintessentially Mughal and is found in many

203

94 YELLOW SANDSTONE JALI

INDIA (RAJASTHAN, JAISALMER), 17TH CENTURY HEIGHT: 137 CM WIDTH: 88.5 CM DEPTH: 7.5 CM

A magnificent yellow sandstone jali screen, finely carved and pierced with a rectangular grid that divides the surface into fifteen small compartments forming three vertical and five horizontal panels, filled with a variety of designs both carved in relief and pierced as lattices.

The central compartment of the upper row is solid and carved in relief with two confronted birds to the centre, perched elegantly amongst stylised leafy tendrils that envelop the birds within an ogival palmette composed of scrolling and intertwining vines, leaves and flower buds.

This central compartment is flanked to either side by narrower compartments, also solid and of similar design, but with a flower bud to the centre instead of birds.

The three compartments of the next horizontal layer are carved and pierced with geometric lattices of interlocking octagons radiating from a central eight-pointed star. The bold geometry of these compartments contrast beautifully with the sinuous forms of the level above.

Further contrast is provided by the central horizontal layer, which has a stunning variant in the form of the open window to the centre. Visually, this open window not only acts as an interesting contrast to the solid and pierced panels, but it is structurally at the very centre of the entire jali, and would allow a clear, glowing beam of light to shine through, in contrast to the filtered light of the lattices and the shadows of the solid panels. This window therefore anchors the complex interplay of carving in the other compartments.

The window is flanked by either side by pierced lattices of interlocking and overlapping circles, the interstices to the centre of each circle embellished with three spokes that give the circles the sense of turning wheels. The radiant energy of this design provides a further element of contrast with the next level, where the three compartments are filled with lattices of interlocking stars and hexagons.

tips further ornaments the frame of each compartment.

Despite the intricate complexity of the jali and its manifold contrasts, the assurance and precision of the carving and the perfect balance and control of the forms result in a jali of dignified and calm splendour.

Jaisalmer is a city of mystic beauty enclosed within the walls of an exterior fortress with ninety-nine projecting bastions. Built by the Rajput king Maharawal Jaisal Singh in the twelfth century, it includes a palace and various groups of residences, all characterised by balconies, windows and entrances carved so exquisitely as to form a true jewel of Rajput craftsmanship.1 Jaisalmer, meaning “the Hill Fort of Jaisal”, is sometimes called the “Golden City of India” because the yellow desert sand and the yellow sandstone used in the architecture of the city give a golden hue to the city and its surrounding area.

Provenance:

The last panel of this spectacular jali to the base is solid and carved in relief with a design of rebated stepped crosses set on a diagonal matrix, each cross with a square to the centre. This design of stepped crosses also embellishes the grid that frames each compartment and the jali as a whole. An inner border of flower petals with sharply pointed

204

Spink and Son, London Private American Collection

Reference: 1. Bianca Maria Alfieri, Islamic Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, 2000, p. 286 and the photograph on p. 284 in which Alfieri illustrates the balconies, windows and carved decoration characteristic of the style of Jaisalmer and as seen on this superb jali.

95 YELLOW SANDSTONE JALI

INDIA (RAJASTHAN, JAISALMER), 17TH CENTURY HEIGHT: 138 CM WIDTH: 86 CM DEPTH: 8 CM

A magnificent yellow sandstone jali screen, finely carved and pierced with a rectangular grid that divides the surface into fifteen small compartments forming three vertical and five horizontal panels, filled with a variety of designs both carved in relief and pierced as lattices.

The central compartment of the upper row is carved in relief with two confronted birds to the centre, perched elegantly amongst stylised leafy tendrils that envelop the birds within an ogival palmette composed of scrolling and intertwining vines, leaves and flower buds. The birds resemble the hamsa (goose or mythical swan) the mount of Brahma and his consort Sarasvati.

They have plump bodies and long tapering necks and wear ring collars. This central compartment is flanked to either side by narrower compartments of similar design, but with a coiled tendril and bud to the centre instead of birds.

The three compartments of the next horizontal layer are carved and pierced with geometric lattices of interlocking octagons radiating from a central eight-pointed star.

The bold geometry of these

compartments contrast beautifully with the sinuous forms of the level above.

Further contrast is provided by the central horizontal layer, carved with pierced lattices of interlocking and overlapping circles, the interstices to the centre of each circle embellished with three spokes that give the circles the sense of turning wheels.

The central compartment is dominated by a large circle, which pushes the other circles outside the frame. The two flanking compartments have a smaller circle at the centre, overlapped by parts of at least six other circles that also expand beyond the frame.

Demonstrating the extraordinary finesse of the carving as well as the mathematical skill required, is the fact that the circles are actually twelve-sided geometric forms, or dodecahedrons.

The radiant energy of this design provides a further element of contrast with the next level, where the three compartments are filled with lattices of interlocking stars and hexagons.

pointed tips further ornaments the frame of each compartment.

Despite the intricate complexity of the jali and its manifold contrasts, the assurance and precision of the carving and the perfect balance and control of the forms result in a jali of dignified and calm splendour.

Jaisalmer is a city of mystic beauty enclosed within the walls of an exterior fortress with ninety-nine projecting bastions. Built by the Rajput king Maharawal Jaisal Singh in the twelfth century, it includes a palace and various groups of residences, all characterised by balconies, windows and entrances carved so exquisitely as to form a true jewel of Rajput craftsmanship.1 Jaisalmer, meaning “the Hill Fort of Jaisal”, is sometimes called the “Golden City of India” because the yellow desert sand and the yellow sandstone used in the architecture of the city give a golden hue to the city and its surrounding area.

Provenance:

The last panel of this spectacular jali to the base is solid and carved in relief with a design of rebated stepped crosses set on a diagonal matrix, each cross with a square to the centre. This design of stepped crosses also embellishes the grid that frames each compartment and the jali as a whole. An inner border of flower petals with sharply

207

Private English Collection

Reference: 1. Bianca Maria Alfieri, Islamic Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, 2000, p. 286 and the photograph on p. 284 in which Alfieri illustrates the balconies, windows and carved decoration characteristic of the style of Jaisalmer as seen on this superb jali.

96 MARBLE COLUMNS

INDIA (MUGHAL), 18TH CENTURY HEIGHT: 115 CM EACH WIDTH: 27 CM EACH

A pair of white marble fluted columns, slightly tapered in the middle, with designs of acanthus leaves in various sizes surrounding the top and bottom of each column.

The plinth at the base and top of each capital is an irregularly shaped pentagon in cross-section, with an angular indentation in the back for the column to fit into an architectural scheme.

The capital is composed of overlapping acanthus leaves detailed with serrated edges and interior veins. These large acanthus leaves are carved in low relief and surmount a triple-tiered collar of smaller acanthus leaves carved in high relief. A ring of acanthus leaves curls upwards and another falls pendant, the two rows separated by a projecting flange of cusped stylised petals.

The base is composed of a similar triple-tiered collar of small acanthus leaves in high relief that surmount large overlapping acanthus leaves.

Elongated acanthus leaves resembling plantain leaves in their

tall slender form enfold the bulbous section to the bottom of each column, the curling tips of the leaves creating small breaks in the contours as they fall towards the spectator.

Each column then rises smoothly to the top where again, overlapping acanthus leaves fall, softening the join between the column and its capital.

Of great strength and imposing presence, these elegant columns retain a certain delicacy through their use of curvaceous and shapely leaves and the plain smooth, fluted central sections that create contrasts of power and serenity.

Red sandstone columns of similar form in the Suraj Bhavan, built by the Hindu ruler Badan Singh in the first half of the eighteenth century, are illustrated in Bianca Maria Alfieri, Islamic Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, 2000, p. 288. The Suraj Bhavan is part of a complex of royal buildings at Dig in the Bharatpur district. The palaces, pavilions and gardens at Dig all follow the canons of Mughal style.

Provenance: Spink and Son, London Private English Collection

Š 2012 World copyright reserved British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-0-9567174-2-9 All rights reserved.

With the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted without prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Published by Simon Ray First published November 2012 Design by Peter Keenan Photography by Alan Tabor Repro by Richard Harris Printed by Deckers Snoeck NV

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