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Lot Essay
The inscription on the reverse contains a Persian quatrain in nasta'liq eulogizing a newly crowned king on his accession and the khutba read in his name. The abjad dating in the last verse adds up to 1124 (AD 1712), the year three Mughals were crowned. The inclusion of 'the enemy being caught' may be an indication that the ruler intended is Farrukh Siyar (1124-31/1713-19). No other ruler in the Persian-speaking world was crowned in that year.
The Emperor Jahangir is famed for his passion for hunting. When reference to this passion could be combined with the description of an actual incident, a wonderful subject emerged for a painter's attention. In his memoirs, Jahangir mentions several hunting incidents and the subject here is probably an illustration of one of those. Two versions of this scene were produced by the artist Farrukh Chela (see Christie's catalogue, 18 December 1968, lot 76).
Other versions of precisely the same composition can be found in: Toby Falk and Simon Digby, Indian Painting, London, 1978, no. 16, p. 30; A. Welch and S.C. Welch, Art of the Islamic Book. The Collection of Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, Cornell University Press, 1982, no. 66, pp. 201-202; one of these is also published in Toby Falk and Simon Digby, Paintings from Mughal India, London, 1980, no.15.
The Emperor Jahangir is famed for his passion for hunting. When reference to this passion could be combined with the description of an actual incident, a wonderful subject emerged for a painter's attention. In his memoirs, Jahangir mentions several hunting incidents and the subject here is probably an illustration of one of those. Two versions of this scene were produced by the artist Farrukh Chela (see Christie's catalogue, 18 December 1968, lot 76).
Other versions of precisely the same composition can be found in: Toby Falk and Simon Digby, Indian Painting, London, 1978, no. 16, p. 30; A. Welch and S.C. Welch, Art of the Islamic Book. The Collection of Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, Cornell University Press, 1982, no. 66, pp. 201-202; one of these is also published in Toby Falk and Simon Digby, Paintings from Mughal India, London, 1980, no.15.