Mughal court artist at Allahabad, North India, 1600-1605

Details

AN ILLUSTRATION TO THE DVADASA BHAVA: MRIGANK RECEIVED BY A KING
Mughal court artist at Allahabad, North India, 1600-1605
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper, two lines of black nasta'liq above and below, the name Mrigank picked out in gold each time, the reverse with 15ll. black, blue, red and gold nasta'liq, colored ruled margins each side, mounted, framed and glazed
Painting 6 ¾ x 4 3/8 in. (17 x 11.3 cm.); folio 13 ¼ x 8 5/8 in. (33.5 x 22 cm.)

Provenance

Sotheby’s London, 11 July 1972, part lot 45.

Lot Essay

At the meeting depicted here the king is so impressed by Mrigank that he hands over the throne to him. Mrigank rules so well that the king also gives one of his daughters in marriage to him.
The artist of this painting in the original catalogue was identified as “Artist C.” His style is more classic, with harder outlines, and some noticeable small faces. The composition is very close indeed to the work of a number of artists in Akbar’s studio, but again the sense of fun, noted in the background of the previous lot, is found in the characterization of some of the figures in the foreground.

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