Lot Essay
The black inscription within the peach border is a later caption saying "Hazrat Maryam," indicating the subject is the Virgin Mary. The gold signature most probably reads 'amal-i Shyam Das,' the name of the painter working in Oudh.
The nasta'liq on the other side is signed "Written by the servant, the sinner, 'Abd al-Rashid al-Daylami, May God forgive him." He was one of the highest-ranking Mughal calligraphers of his day and worked under Shah Jahan.
The seal reads: A'zam al-Daula Bahadur, 1186 (1772-73). This same seal has been found on two other paintings: Krishna swoons on a terrace at the sight of Radha by Fath Chand, Lucknow, ca. 1750-70 (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, IS 7-1957); and a panel of calligraphy with an image of two poets, Northern India, 1622, see J. Cummins, Indian Painting, 2006, plate 30, p. 68
The nasta'liq on the other side is signed "Written by the servant, the sinner, 'Abd al-Rashid al-Daylami, May God forgive him." He was one of the highest-ranking Mughal calligraphers of his day and worked under Shah Jahan.
The seal reads: A'zam al-Daula Bahadur, 1186 (1772-73). This same seal has been found on two other paintings: Krishna swoons on a terrace at the sight of Radha by Fath Chand, Lucknow, ca. 1750-70 (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, IS 7-1957); and a panel of calligraphy with an image of two poets, Northern India, 1622, see J. Cummins, Indian Painting, 2006, plate 30, p. 68