Lot Essay
The female figure is a direct copy of a drawing by Basawan, now in the Musée Guimet, Paris, published by Okada, A.: Imperial Mughal Painters, Paris 1992, p.89, pl.90. The original is placed on a lion's head and is obviously taken fom a European print. This may well have been a figure of Diana with the obviously Indian instrument replaced by a spear, and the bow having a warlike connotation.
The first Jesuit mission arrived at the Mughal Court in 1579. During Akbar's reign clergy of all religions were welcomed at the cosmopolitan court and Akbar enjoyed discussing their different religious beliefs. The missionaries presented Akbar with several European paintings which strongly influenced subsequent Indian work, particularly in the period of Jahangir (Randhwana, M.S. and Galbraith, J.K.: Indian Painting, Bombay 1968, pp.36-38 and Gahlin, S.: The Courts of India, Indian Miniatures from the collection of the Foundation Custodia, Paris 1991, pp.7-8)
The first Jesuit mission arrived at the Mughal Court in 1579. During Akbar's reign clergy of all religions were welcomed at the cosmopolitan court and Akbar enjoyed discussing their different religious beliefs. The missionaries presented Akbar with several European paintings which strongly influenced subsequent Indian work, particularly in the period of Jahangir (Randhwana, M.S. and Galbraith, J.K.: Indian Painting, Bombay 1968, pp.36-38 and Gahlin, S.: The Courts of India, Indian Miniatures from the collection of the Foundation Custodia, Paris 1991, pp.7-8)