PORTRAIT OF A WANDERING DERVISH
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PORTRAIT OF A WANDERING DERVISH

PROBABLY NORTH INDIA, LATE 16TH OR EARLY 17TH CENTURY

Details
PORTRAIT OF A WANDERING DERVISH
PROBABLY NORTH INDIA, LATE 16TH OR EARLY 17TH CENTURY
Ink and opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, the long-haired figure wearing a conical dervish hat and holding a tulwar, a beggar's bowl and prayer beads attached to his belt, cradling a lance in his right hand, with stylised clouds above his head and flowering plants below, set within gold scrolling floral vine borders, on wide card margins with cusped palmettes on a ground of scrolling arabesques, framed and glazed, an old auction label on the reverse
Painting 7 1/8 x 3 7/8in. (18.2 x 9.7cm.); folio 13 5/8 x 9 1/8in. (34.4 x 23.2cm.)
Special notice
These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

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Lot Essay

This portrait is an attractive example of the strong cultural links between Iran and India in late 16th century. As the detailed folds of the tunic and the shading suggest, the artist who produced this work was probably trained in Iran. Other notable artists who are known to have made this journey include Farrukh Beg who was born in Iran in circa 1545 and worked for Mughal Emperor Akbar in Lahore from around 1590-1605 and later travelled to Bijapur in the Deccan. A portrait of Mirza Muhammad-Hakim as a mendicant seated under a tree is a good comparable example of a mixture of Iranian and Indian iconography, (Milo C. Beach, ‘Farrukh Beg’, in Milo C. Beach, Eberhard Fischer and B.N. Goswamy (ed.), Masters of Indian Painting, Zurich, 2011, fig.1, p.191). A follower of Farrukh Beg, Muhammad ‘Ali, who was also probably born in Iran and later travelled to Bijapur, painted a standing lady with flowing robes on a background decorated with gold outlined stylised clouds, very similar to our portrait, (John Seyller, ‘Muhammad ‘Ali’, in Beach, Fischer and Goswamy (ed.), op.cit., fig.2, p.281). The face of our dervish is not rounded in the form typical of Bijapur style portraits. This suggests it was produced in Northern rather than Central India. A depiction of a dancing girl in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art that is attributed to the Deccan circa 1650 illustrates the figure in similarly flowing robes. Unlike our figure however, it has a more stylised rounded Deccani face, (Pratapaditya Pal, Indian Painting: A Catalogue of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Collection, Los Angeles, 1993, no.105, p.342). A portrait of a seated Tartar warrior that is closely related to our portrait was sold at Sotheby’s, London, 20 November 1986, lot 187.

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