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Mughal School, 17th century Tiger Hunt near the Jahangir Maha, Agra

1690

A beautiful composition depicting Empress Nur Jahan on a tiger hunt, an act of feminism. Circa 1750. Gouache and ink with heightening in gold on brown laid paper, 12 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches (317 x 210 mm), with a floral-motif border painted in blue and oxblood, the full sheet. With extensive inscriptions in Persian written in black ink on the verso. In good condition with overall toning and minor creasing, all consistent with age. The color is rich and and fresh with bright yellow illumination. In the distance we see the Jahangir Mahal Agra, as well as a sage meditating in his hut. A beautiful composition. Nur Jahan was fond of hunting and often went on hunting tours with her husband and was known for her boldness in hunting ferocious tigers. She is reported to have slain four tigers with six bullets during one hunt. According to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan this feat, inspired a poet to declaim a spontaneous couplet in her honor: "Though Nur Jahan be in form a woman, In the ranks of men she...

A joyful scene of lighthearted merriment in the palace of Jangahir Mahal Agra Circa 1750. Gouache and ink with gold heightening on light weight cream laid paper, 8 1/4 x 6 inches (2...

"Two Warriors on Horseback, Foot Soldier, and Civilians" is an original gold and tempera painting by an unknown Persian artist from the late 19th ...

The present illuminated folio page contains a fine miniature depicting four figures playing polo. Polo, also called 'chagun,' was the sport of kings and princes of central Asia and Iran, and the sport probably originated there in the 6th century BCE. Polo matches appear in a large number of early Persian texts, including in the writings of the 10th century epic writer Abu l-Qasim al-Firdawsi: He describes numerous polo matches in his famous 'Shahnameh' (The Persian Book of Kings). This particular illumination also is closely related to an example held at the Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art: a folio from 'Guy u Chawgan' (The ball and the polo-mallet) which shows a polo game with the dervish and the shah. 12 x 8.25 inches, artwork 19.75 x 15.88 inches, frame accompanied on the back with an image of the verso framed to conservation standards with a 100% rag silk-lined mat in a gold gilded frame A Persian miniature is a small Persian painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a muraqqa. The techniques are broadly comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts. Although there is an equally well-established Persian tradition of wall-painting, the survival rate and state of preservation of miniatures is better, and miniatures are much the best-known form of Persian painting in the West, and many of the most important examples are in Western, or Turkish, museums. Miniature painting became a significant genre in Persian art in the 13th century, receiving Chinese influence after the Mongol conquests, and the highest point in the tradition was reached in the 15th and 16th centuries. The tradition continued, under some Western influence, after this, and has many modern exponents. The Persian miniature was the dominant influence on other Islamic miniature traditions, principally the Ottoman miniature...