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Lot Essay
This remarkable album was very probably compiled shortly after the completion of the majority of the paintings, circa 1780. It illustrates a particular taste for paintings and calligraphy, possibly that of a European patron stationed between Faizabad and Lucknow, in Awadh, in the last quarter of the 18th century.
Some of the illustrations, such as the equestrian portrait (illustrated left) and a portrait of a standing nobleman (illustrated above) are Mughal examples dating to the late 17th or early 18th century. However, numerous paintings are 18th century with a large group of them having been executed in the 1780s by artists working in the style of Mir Kalan Khan. The two main artists of this album have distinct styles. Artist A produced fine sub-imperial Mughal scenes. Artist B painted similar scenes, often executed to mirror Artist A's compositions but in a slightly less refined manner.
Artists A and B clearly follow a style associated with the renowned painter Mir Kalan Khan. Originally working at the court of Muhammad Shah, Mir Kalan Khan moved to Awadh shortly after the emperor's death in 1748, where he worked for Nawab Shuja' al-Dawla and the local elite in Lucknow and Faizabad. With Nidha Mal, Mir Kalan Khan was one of the most prolific - and ecclectic - artists to settle in the region. A painting in the Los Angeles County Museum, depicting a Princess visiting a forest shrine at night, attributed to him and painted in Lucknow circa 1760 very much sets the style for a number of paintings in the present album.
The works painted in the style of Mir Kalan Khan in this album can be paralleled with a number of other paintings in various public and private collections. Ladies on a terrace, a recurent theme in our album, is found on a composition titled "A European Princess" and catalogued as "style of Mir Kalan Khan, Faizabad, ca.1770" (British Library, The Art of Courtly Lucknow, exhibition catalogue, Los Angeles, 2011, cat.134, pp.39-258). Other paintings, such as some in the Wellington Album, dated to circa 1800 relate to the present works by the treatment given to the vegetation, particularly trees with dense green foliage and large trunks, treated in a relatively simple manner, which seem to derive from examples used in Mir Kalan Khan's paintings.
Other paintings relate to works assembled in this album. For instance, an illustration to a Ragamala series, Deva Gandhara Ragini, from a Polier Album is very similar in style and iconography to a number of paintings of the same subjects in the present album. It is dated circa 1780 and attributed to Faizabad or Lucknow (now in Berlin Islamic Art Museum, The Art of Courtly Lucknow, op.cit, cat.124, pp.117-258). Another painting, a portrait of a European courtesan (not illustrated here), depicted nude but for a necklace, a golden veil secured by a laurel chaplet, is a known subject of which a number of Mughal examples exist. The composition originates in a Netherlandish print by Hendrick Goltzius (d. 1617), an allegorical figure of Poetry or Rhetoric. For a comparable painting attributed to Lucknow, circa 1770-80, see John Seyller, Mughal and Deccani Paintings, exhibition catalogue, Zurich, 2010, cat.29, p.95.
European patrons stationed in Awadh such as Jean-Baptiste Gentil (d.1799) and Louis-Antoine Polier (d.1795) were famous for their collections of Indian paintings which included examples from the best artists of the time. Mihr Chand, many of whose paintings were integrated in Polier's collection, copied earlier Mughal paintings and reinterpreted themes and styles which were available to the artists. The two versions of the Qawwal Shaykh Shir Muhammad, one Mughal circa 1720, the other by Mihr Chand, circa 1765-73, illustrate this process (respectively in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris and in Berlin, Islamic Art Museum, India's Fabled City: The Art of Courtly Lucknow, exhibition catalogue, Los Angeles, 2011, fig.25 and cat.123, pp.179-58). The present album illustrates exactly this process: for instance, a late 18th century equestrian portrait was commissioned to mirror our fine Mughal nobleman riding a horse, painted circa 1700.
The themes of the paintings in the Polier albums were extremely varied and included imperial portraits, drawings of Mughal landmarks, portraits of courtesans or subjects of Hindu mythology. The collector who assembled the present album certainly displays a similar taste.
Most of the calligraphic panels included in this album are Indian and executed in the 18th century. However, one example is attributed to 'Imad al-Hassan, the renowned Safavid master of the late 16th/early 17th century. The signatures of eleven different scribes are found on other panels: La'l Rahand (?), Hafiz Shaykh Ahmad, Jawahir Raqam, Muhammad Sadiq bin Jawahir Raqam, Muhammad 'Alawi, Pir Muhammad, Bahadur, Muhammad Zahid, 'Imad al-Hassani (later attribution), Faqirullah, Ghulam Bahadur and 'Abd al-Ra'uf.
The large number of floral decorative studies come in a variety of compositions, sometimes with the addition of birds amidst fruit and flowers. None of these studies have been burnished and, as other paintings in this album, might not have reached the final finishing stage.
The paintings in this album include (for a complete list, please contact the department):
f.1v A Mughal child, 18th century
f.2r A Mughal noble and his son, 17th century
f.3v and f.4r Two female musicians with animals, possibly illustrations to Ragamala series, circa 1800
f.6r Shah Jahan at old age holding a sarpech, 18th century
f.7v and f.8r Two illustrations of ladies visiting a sage, late 18th century
f.9v and f.10r Two illustrations of ladies on a terrace, circa 1800 f.11v Muhammad Shah seated and holding a sarpech, late 18th century
f.12r Nadir Shah seated and holding an apple, late 18th century
f.13v Portrait of a naked lady on a terrace, circa 1780
f.15v and f.16r, Two illustrations of a lady on a terrace with attendants, circa 1800
f.17v and f.18r Two illustrations of a lady enjoying music on a terrace, late 18th century
f.27v An equestrian portrait, early 19th century
f.28r An equestrian portrait of a Mughal noble, circa 1700
f.31v and f.32r Two illustrations of ladies enjoying music, late 18th century
f.33v and f.34r Two illustrations of a lady visiting a sage, late 18th century
f.36v A Prince visiting an ascetic, late 18th century
f.37r A lady visiting an ascetic, 18th century
f.40v and f.41r Two illustrations of an amourous couple, circa 1800
f.42v A Mughal noble, 18th century
f.43r A Mughal lady, late 18th century
f.46v A Mughal prince, 18th century
f.47r A Mughal nobleman, late 17th/early 18th century
f.55v A Mughal emperor, possibly Shah Jahan at old age, circa 1800
f.56r A Mughal prince, possibly Aurangzeb, late 18th century
Some of the illustrations, such as the equestrian portrait (illustrated left) and a portrait of a standing nobleman (illustrated above) are Mughal examples dating to the late 17th or early 18th century. However, numerous paintings are 18th century with a large group of them having been executed in the 1780s by artists working in the style of Mir Kalan Khan. The two main artists of this album have distinct styles. Artist A produced fine sub-imperial Mughal scenes. Artist B painted similar scenes, often executed to mirror Artist A's compositions but in a slightly less refined manner.
Artists A and B clearly follow a style associated with the renowned painter Mir Kalan Khan. Originally working at the court of Muhammad Shah, Mir Kalan Khan moved to Awadh shortly after the emperor's death in 1748, where he worked for Nawab Shuja' al-Dawla and the local elite in Lucknow and Faizabad. With Nidha Mal, Mir Kalan Khan was one of the most prolific - and ecclectic - artists to settle in the region. A painting in the Los Angeles County Museum, depicting a Princess visiting a forest shrine at night, attributed to him and painted in Lucknow circa 1760 very much sets the style for a number of paintings in the present album.
The works painted in the style of Mir Kalan Khan in this album can be paralleled with a number of other paintings in various public and private collections. Ladies on a terrace, a recurent theme in our album, is found on a composition titled "A European Princess" and catalogued as "style of Mir Kalan Khan, Faizabad, ca.1770" (British Library, The Art of Courtly Lucknow, exhibition catalogue, Los Angeles, 2011, cat.134, pp.39-258). Other paintings, such as some in the Wellington Album, dated to circa 1800 relate to the present works by the treatment given to the vegetation, particularly trees with dense green foliage and large trunks, treated in a relatively simple manner, which seem to derive from examples used in Mir Kalan Khan's paintings.
Other paintings relate to works assembled in this album. For instance, an illustration to a Ragamala series, Deva Gandhara Ragini, from a Polier Album is very similar in style and iconography to a number of paintings of the same subjects in the present album. It is dated circa 1780 and attributed to Faizabad or Lucknow (now in Berlin Islamic Art Museum, The Art of Courtly Lucknow, op.cit, cat.124, pp.117-258). Another painting, a portrait of a European courtesan (not illustrated here), depicted nude but for a necklace, a golden veil secured by a laurel chaplet, is a known subject of which a number of Mughal examples exist. The composition originates in a Netherlandish print by Hendrick Goltzius (d. 1617), an allegorical figure of Poetry or Rhetoric. For a comparable painting attributed to Lucknow, circa 1770-80, see John Seyller, Mughal and Deccani Paintings, exhibition catalogue, Zurich, 2010, cat.29, p.95.
European patrons stationed in Awadh such as Jean-Baptiste Gentil (d.1799) and Louis-Antoine Polier (d.1795) were famous for their collections of Indian paintings which included examples from the best artists of the time. Mihr Chand, many of whose paintings were integrated in Polier's collection, copied earlier Mughal paintings and reinterpreted themes and styles which were available to the artists. The two versions of the Qawwal Shaykh Shir Muhammad, one Mughal circa 1720, the other by Mihr Chand, circa 1765-73, illustrate this process (respectively in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris and in Berlin, Islamic Art Museum, India's Fabled City: The Art of Courtly Lucknow, exhibition catalogue, Los Angeles, 2011, fig.25 and cat.123, pp.179-58). The present album illustrates exactly this process: for instance, a late 18th century equestrian portrait was commissioned to mirror our fine Mughal nobleman riding a horse, painted circa 1700.
The themes of the paintings in the Polier albums were extremely varied and included imperial portraits, drawings of Mughal landmarks, portraits of courtesans or subjects of Hindu mythology. The collector who assembled the present album certainly displays a similar taste.
Most of the calligraphic panels included in this album are Indian and executed in the 18th century. However, one example is attributed to 'Imad al-Hassan, the renowned Safavid master of the late 16th/early 17th century. The signatures of eleven different scribes are found on other panels: La'l Rahand (?), Hafiz Shaykh Ahmad, Jawahir Raqam, Muhammad Sadiq bin Jawahir Raqam, Muhammad 'Alawi, Pir Muhammad, Bahadur, Muhammad Zahid, 'Imad al-Hassani (later attribution), Faqirullah, Ghulam Bahadur and 'Abd al-Ra'uf.
The large number of floral decorative studies come in a variety of compositions, sometimes with the addition of birds amidst fruit and flowers. None of these studies have been burnished and, as other paintings in this album, might not have reached the final finishing stage.
The paintings in this album include (for a complete list, please contact the department):
f.1v A Mughal child, 18th century
f.2r A Mughal noble and his son, 17th century
f.3v and f.4r Two female musicians with animals, possibly illustrations to Ragamala series, circa 1800
f.6r Shah Jahan at old age holding a sarpech, 18th century
f.7v and f.8r Two illustrations of ladies visiting a sage, late 18th century
f.9v and f.10r Two illustrations of ladies on a terrace, circa 1800 f.11v Muhammad Shah seated and holding a sarpech, late 18th century
f.12r Nadir Shah seated and holding an apple, late 18th century
f.13v Portrait of a naked lady on a terrace, circa 1780
f.15v and f.16r, Two illustrations of a lady on a terrace with attendants, circa 1800
f.17v and f.18r Two illustrations of a lady enjoying music on a terrace, late 18th century
f.27v An equestrian portrait, early 19th century
f.28r An equestrian portrait of a Mughal noble, circa 1700
f.31v and f.32r Two illustrations of ladies enjoying music, late 18th century
f.33v and f.34r Two illustrations of a lady visiting a sage, late 18th century
f.36v A Prince visiting an ascetic, late 18th century
f.37r A lady visiting an ascetic, 18th century
f.40v and f.41r Two illustrations of an amourous couple, circa 1800
f.42v A Mughal noble, 18th century
f.43r A Mughal lady, late 18th century
f.46v A Mughal prince, 18th century
f.47r A Mughal nobleman, late 17th/early 18th century
f.55v A Mughal emperor, possibly Shah Jahan at old age, circa 1800
f.56r A Mughal prince, possibly Aurangzeb, late 18th century