Rustem Fighting a Serpent

INDIA, LUCKNOW, CIRCA 1780

Details

Rustem Fighting a Serpent
India, Lucknow, circa 1780
The bearded hero combating a green serpent which is biting his horse; mounted on an album page with borders containing scenes of nobles seated in rural landscapes listening to music and animal combat groups, one of the figures Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhhism, heightened with gold on paper; framed
Folio: 15¾ x 11¼ in. (39.9 x 28.5 cm.)

Lot Essay

This leaf comes from one of several albums made in the late 18th century in imitation of the albums prepared for Jahangir and Shah Jahan of the previous century. The borders with their lively genre scenes and animal studies link this group together. The miniatures are an eclectic mixture of Hindu and Muslim subjects; cf. L. Leach, Mughal and Other Indian Paintings from the Chester Beatty Library, 1995, pp. 666-7.

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