THE MAGIC DOE

The present painting is stylistically similar to a number of Mughal illustrations produced in Allahabad for Prince Selim in the early 17th century. Our doe bears close resemblance to the doe depicted in ‘The Prince loses Mirigavati' from the Raj Kunwar manuscript of 1603/04 AD the Chester Beatty Library Dublin (IN 37; see Linda York Leach, Mughal and Other Indian Paintings from the Chester Beatty Library, vol. 1, London, 1995, pp.199, no.2.44). The Raj Kunwar of Qutban tells the story of the Prince Raj who falls in love with Mirigavati, a woman who can magically transform into a doe. Beyond the appearance of the doe itself, our painting and the Chester Beatty illustration share a similarly bright palette, compositional structure, hazy architecture decorating the horizon and size. The zig-zagging riverbank with sharply vertical sides is also found in many of the illustrations of the Raj Kunwar as well as the similarly attributed illustrations to the Anvar-i Suhayli in the British Library (Add.MS.18579).