.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Aurangzeb's defeat of the Deccani Sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda in 1687-88 put an end to the independent court ateliers which had flourished in the Deccan. Whilst many painters moved to the new city of Aurangabad and sought patronage with Mughal and Hindu officers serving Aurangzeb, many also left the Deccan to seek patronage in the Rajput courts and Mughal north India. The result was a merging of styles that makes it difficult to always differentiate between Mughal, Rajput and Deccani paintings of the late 17th century (Mark Zebrowski, Deccani Painting, London, 1983, p.212). This is evidenced by a painting of Atachin Beg Bahadur Qalmaq hawking dated to the early 18th century now in the British Museum (1937,0920,0.6). Atachin Beg Bahadur Qalmaq himself looks very Mughal in style, as do two of his retainers on foot. However, the three other retainers are deeply Deccani in style whilst the horse feels typical of Kishangarh. The style of the landscape in the background is another Deccani element with its moody rolling hills, wildfowl-filled river and pinkish rocky hills (Zebrowski, op.cit., p.213), which are similar to the background seen in the present lot.
This work is also comparable to a painting from the Johnson Album of a Mughal commander in the Deccan, dated circa 1680 (British Library, Johnson Album 26, no.14). The commander rides a similar horse and sports a similar small domed turban to our mounted figure, identified in the upper margin as Bahram Khan. This distinctive shape of turban is also found in a portrait of Abdul Ghaffar Khan Bahadur painted in the Deccan in the last quarter of the 17th century (Zebrowski, op.cit., fig.181, p.210). A painting of similar components but far more Deccani in its style and colouring is in the David Collection and attributed to Aurangabad circa 1700 (13 / 2015).
The Urdu text on the reverse is an extract from the Kitab-i Nauras of Ibrahim ‘Adil Shah II of Bijapur (r.1580-1627). That this text was mounted onto the same album folio may further indicate at a Deccani attribution of the painting if the album was compiled thematically.
This work is also comparable to a painting from the Johnson Album of a Mughal commander in the Deccan, dated circa 1680 (British Library, Johnson Album 26, no.14). The commander rides a similar horse and sports a similar small domed turban to our mounted figure, identified in the upper margin as Bahram Khan. This distinctive shape of turban is also found in a portrait of Abdul Ghaffar Khan Bahadur painted in the Deccan in the last quarter of the 17th century (Zebrowski, op.cit., fig.181, p.210). A painting of similar components but far more Deccani in its style and colouring is in the David Collection and attributed to Aurangabad circa 1700 (13 / 2015).
The Urdu text on the reverse is an extract from the Kitab-i Nauras of Ibrahim ‘Adil Shah II of Bijapur (r.1580-1627). That this text was mounted onto the same album folio may further indicate at a Deccani attribution of the painting if the album was compiled thematically.