MUGHAL INDIA, CIRCA 1610

Details

A EUROPEAN LADY WITH A VINA
MUGHAL INDIA, CIRCA 1610
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, the lady seated on a throne playing the vina, a line of Persian poetry in black nasta'liq above, laid down on card, minor areas of pigment loss

Painting 4 ¾ x 3 1/8in. (12 x 8cm.); folio 9 7/8 x 6 ½in. (25 x 16.5cm)

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU or, if the UK has withdrawn from the EU without an agreed transition deal, from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

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Lot Essay

European diplomatic and religious missions visited the Mughal court from the 1570s onward. The paintings and prints they brought with them enthused Mughal artists to copy both compositions and techniques, such as perspective and modelling. The artist of our painting may have been attempting a European depiction of the Hindu goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, who is usually depicted holding a vina. For a very similar example see British Museum inv. no. 1948,1009,0.72. Two very similar examples sold in these Rooms include 26 April 2012, lot 12 and 17 April 2007, lot 215.

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