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Lot Essay
The rulers of Golconda were enthusiastic patrons of art, and their court attracted many artists from abroad. Mark Zebrowski commented that "painting in almost pure Safavid, Turkish and Mughal styles continued throughout the history of the sultanate, suggesting that the Qutb Shahi sultans not only welcomed artists from all over the Muslim world, but encouraged them to retain their original styles" (Zebrowski 1983, p.13). Not only did they retain styles, but many artists brought with them whole compositions. Navina Haidar publishes a Deccani painting of a woman applying henna to her feet, for instance, which is very similar to a Safavid painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc.no.55.121.21, published Haidar, 2018, pp.47-8). A standing figure in an album in the Raza Library, Rampur is also self-consciously in the style of Reza Abbasi (Schmitz and Desai 2007, pl.23). Though both are based on Safavid compositions, they have typical Golconda faces, as does ours.
The figure in this painting is in a pose which connects it to several Safavid paintings and drawings which show a kneeling figure, of which lot 75 in this sale is a fine example from the late 16th century (see that lot note for a longer discussion of this subject). As well as a matching pose, the fur hat here seems to be an evolution of that in the earlier painting. This similarity has been a source of confusion in the past: when this painting was published in 1978, Anthony Welch described the figure as being "akin to" the work of Mirza Ali, and suggested that the face may have been repainted in the style of Muhammad Yusuf. However, close examination of the painting does not give any evidence of repainting. A Deccani origin is a more convincing explanation of the picture's apparent eclecticism.
The evolution and geographic spread of the iconography of this kneeling figure is interesting. Although it appears in pen-and-ink drawings from as early as the mid-16th century, the earliest version that we have been able to find in which the figure wears an orange robe is in an album in the Muzeum Narodowe, Krakow (Zygulski 1989, no.31, p.24, front cover illustration). That example was Safavid in origin, and attributed to the 17th century. However, the orange-robed figure soon began to appear in other contexts. Gwendolyn Collaço has identified this figure appearing in paintings executed in the Ottoman Empire. The kneeling figure appears twice – once in an orange robe and once in a blue robe– on folio 8v. of the Ahmed I Album, compiled around 1617, and today in the Topkapi Palace Library, Istanbul (acc.no.B.408). The figure appears again in a larger image in an Ottoman album in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (Arabe 6076, fol.7b). Clearly the figure seemed exotic to a Turkish audience, since a contemporary label identified the figure as the Mughal Princess Banu Shah (Collaço 2021, figs.7 and 9). The fact that the same figure should appear in Ottoman, Deccani, and Safavid paintings should come as no surprise, demonstrating the interconnected network of art, artists, and cultural expressions across the Muslim world in the early 17th century.
The figure in this painting is in a pose which connects it to several Safavid paintings and drawings which show a kneeling figure, of which lot 75 in this sale is a fine example from the late 16th century (see that lot note for a longer discussion of this subject). As well as a matching pose, the fur hat here seems to be an evolution of that in the earlier painting. This similarity has been a source of confusion in the past: when this painting was published in 1978, Anthony Welch described the figure as being "akin to" the work of Mirza Ali, and suggested that the face may have been repainted in the style of Muhammad Yusuf. However, close examination of the painting does not give any evidence of repainting. A Deccani origin is a more convincing explanation of the picture's apparent eclecticism.
The evolution and geographic spread of the iconography of this kneeling figure is interesting. Although it appears in pen-and-ink drawings from as early as the mid-16th century, the earliest version that we have been able to find in which the figure wears an orange robe is in an album in the Muzeum Narodowe, Krakow (Zygulski 1989, no.31, p.24, front cover illustration). That example was Safavid in origin, and attributed to the 17th century. However, the orange-robed figure soon began to appear in other contexts. Gwendolyn Collaço has identified this figure appearing in paintings executed in the Ottoman Empire. The kneeling figure appears twice – once in an orange robe and once in a blue robe– on folio 8v. of the Ahmed I Album, compiled around 1617, and today in the Topkapi Palace Library, Istanbul (acc.no.B.408). The figure appears again in a larger image in an Ottoman album in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (Arabe 6076, fol.7b). Clearly the figure seemed exotic to a Turkish audience, since a contemporary label identified the figure as the Mughal Princess Banu Shah (Collaço 2021, figs.7 and 9). The fact that the same figure should appear in Ottoman, Deccani, and Safavid paintings should come as no surprise, demonstrating the interconnected network of art, artists, and cultural expressions across the Muslim world in the early 17th century.