INDIA, SUB-MUGHAL, 17TH CENTURY

Depictions of the royal hunt, or shikar, were a common theme in Mughal painting, likely serving as a metaphor for imperial authority. In the present painting, a nobleman is engaging in a Mongolian hunting tradition known as qamargah, in which an army of hunters trap and encircle the animal in order for the leader to make the final kill. The risk to the hunters in this practice is substantial, as evidenced by man getting knocked to his knees by the massive buffalo’s charge. The formation is successful, however, as the leader is about to deliver the final blow with his long-bladed shamshir shikargar into his trophy.
Mughal hunts were often organized as month-long expeditions in open forests miles away from any city, although the current scene does depict a palatial town in the distances as well as a small shrine nestled between rocky outcrops. The rugged, undulating terrain does however capture the sense of action amongst endless wilderness.