BIJAPUR, DECCAN, CENTRAL INDIA, CIRCA 1680 WITH LATER 18TH CENTURY MARGINS

Bijapur paintings from the 17th century are known for their rich and fiery palette and varying use of perspective. The rich colours of the sky comprising blue, red and pink hues of the clouds set against a gold background find comparison with the golden skies of a well-known, late 17th century, durbar scene ‘The House of Bijapur’ by Kamal Muhammad and Chand Muhammad in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (N. Haidar, M. Sardar, Sultans of Deccan India 1500-1700, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2015, no.71, pp.154-155). The poet Hafiz is seated under a chinar tree, a recurring compositional element in many early seventeenth century Bijapuri works, some attributed to the Dublin painter, who would often paint his subjects seated under gnarled chinar trees (Mark Zebrowski, Deccani Painting, London, 1983, pl. XIII and nos. 84,85). The dress, turban and facial type of the seated prince depicts a strong Mughal artistic influence as by the mid-17th century, the Mughals had established a firm stronghold in the Deccan.