MUGHAL INDIA, ONE SIDE ATTRIBUTABLE TO DHARAM DAS AND FARRUKH CHELA CIRCA 1595

The painting of a gathering of Sufi devotees can be attributed to two artists. The main figure of the turbanned Sheikh with his full and rounded cheeks can be attributed to the artist Dharam Das. In addition to painting the main figure, it is likely that Dharam Das also drew the outlines for the rest of the composition. A painting from the khamsa of Nizami ascribed to Dharam Das displays an almost identical turbanned figure (John Seyller, Pearls of the Parrot of India: The Walters Art Museum Khamsa of Amir Khusraw of Delhi, Washington, 2002, fig. 17, p.71). The faces of the other figures can be attributed to the artist Farrukh Chela who is known for his expressive and slightly unorthodox figurative depictions. Farrukh Chela produced a very similar Sufi scene which is now in the Chester Beatty Library, Linda York Leach, Mughal and Other Indian Paintings from the Chester Beatty Library, vol. I, London, 1995, cat.no. 2.203, p.334).