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Lot Essay
This idyllic pastoral scene is an outstanding example of Deccani painting. Striking in its originality, exquisite in its details and of unusually large size, it combines masterful technique with a charmed sense of reality to produce a highly memorable image of an enchanted landscape, an Arcadia-like realm of rural idyll and mystical contemplation. Although crowded with animals, birds and vegetation, it nevertheless conveys a sense of great tranquillity. W. G. Archer described it as “an ecstatic celebration of nature herself” (Archer 1960, pl.31), and Sheila Canby described it as “the evocation of an ideal world in which man and nature are at peace.” (Canby 1998, p.160).
Reflecting the eclectic social and cultural blend of the Deccani states, as well as the poetic sensitivities of the sultans, artists at the courts of Golconda, Bijapur and Ahmadnagar fused local pictorial traditions with those from Mughal and other Indian schools, as well as from Central Asia, Persia and Turkey, and infused them with a powerful, almost otherworldly sense of lyricism and allegory to create distinctive and highly alluring compositions. Mark Zebrowski commented that “a surprisingly large proportion of the surviving masterpieces of Indian painting was produced for the mysterious sultans who ruled the Deccan” (Zebrowski 1983, p.7), while Navina Najat Haidar described Deccani art as poetic in character, with a sense of fantasy, lyrical movement of line, glowing colours, enigmatic shifts of scale, and a seductive emphasis on mood, and yet maintaining a rigor and mastery over formal idioms that leads to the creation of distinctive, exciting stylistic expressions of intellectual depth and profundity (Haidar in Haidar and Sardar 2015, pp.15-16, 19). The present painting has all of these qualities.
THE PAINTING
On the verdant grassy bank of a pond, a large herd of long- and short-horned cattle graze contentedly, watched over by two herdsmen, one kneeling in the centre milking a cow, the other standing at left wearing a black hooded cloak and resting on a staff in front of a cow giving birth to a calf – a remarkable and eye-catching vignette. All the cows have gold tips to their horns, marking this herd out as special, possibly sacred, hinting at spiritual and mystical aspects in the scene. Gold highlights are also used for the trunks of the trees next to the milking cow and above the birthing cow, as well as in the rocks around the shepherd at upper right. Growing in the pond are colourful lotus plants and numerous, dark, fern-like water plants, which are almost invisible unless observed closely. Two pairs of red-billed egrets stand at either side of the pond, and between them are twelve pairs of ducks. Barely visible against the dark-grey of the water are two oversized butterflies alighting on the lotus flowers. This type of unexpected shift of scale is a leitmotif of many Deccani paintings (see Haidar 2016 for an essay on this subject, including a very similar oversized butterfly, fig.4, p.23). Further up the slope on the drier ground, sheep and goats graze on sparse tufts of grass, while some of the goats reach up to chew on the leaves of the large trees. A third herdsman, wrapped in a cloak, sits peacefully on the ground at the foot of the rocky outcrop A few adventurous goats are exploring the rocks above, at the top of which sit two ascetics, one inhaling, eyes closed, on a huqqa pipe, the other gazing down on the scene below. In the trees at the upper level are numerous birds, either singles or in pairs, and a pair of striped squirrels. Far off in the sky is a flight of five birds, their tiny size indicating their distance.
It is a mesmerising scene, with a superbly balanced composition, a strong but harmonious palette and numerous charming details and vignettes. In addition to the strong sense of lyricism and enchantment, there is a degree of realism in the artist’s depiction of how animals behave and interact with humans. The brown cow being milked at centre is turning towards the herdsman, mouth open in noisy protest, perhaps at the fact that her calf, who stands lowing in hunger, is temporarily being denied its sustenance. The look on the herdsman’s face as he turns towards the cow seems to suggest understanding and a silent apology. The second herdsman stands watching the cow giving birth, and the slight frown lines on his forehead and pinched eyebrows imply that, although he is patiently letting nature takes its course, he is nevertheless slightly anxious and concerned for the labouring animal. The partially bent hind legs of the cow is another small naturalistic detail.
Archer stated that "The forest life, a regimen prescribed for certain kinds of ascetics, may well be its underlying theme, but the plethora of animals, the cattle marked as if for an autumn saturnalia, their varied stances and joyous motions, make it an ecstatic celebration of nature herself” (Archer 1960, pl.31). The theme of fertility is reinforced in several ways. It is noticeable that almost all the birds and wild animals are pictured as pairs – pairs of ducks and egrets in the pond, pairs of squirrels at upper left, and multiple pairs of birds in the upper trees. The inclusion of pairs of animals or birds was a visual trope in Indian painting (and other traditions) generally symbolising fertility and fidelity, and the artist’s decision here to include so many pairs reinforces the idea of natural fecundity that is directly expressed in the vignette of the cow giving birth.
There may also be symbolism embedded in the landscape and composition. In the lower part of the picture the scene seems to represent the material world and the earthly realm, with animals and birds feeding and giving birth, and the humans engaged in the practical duties of herdsmen. Higher up the composition, the theme and the landscape itself become more ascetic, moving from the lush, watery foreground up to the more arid rocky outcrop where the two holy men sit in meditative contemplation. Their stony hill offers little in the way of food, and it is as if they are sustained by inner spiritual nourishment. The only thing above them is a slim strip of sky with a distant flight of birds. They are close to the heavens physically and spiritually.
The near-contemporary inscription in the upper border (see above) is similar to a formula used by palace librarians at Bikaner and it is possible that this painting may once have formed part of the Bikaner palace collection (Archer 1960, pl.31). On the verso is an inscription in black ink in an early 20th century, English hand reading “1000£ Goats and Cattle on the Hill Side Very Old No. 48”
Reflecting the eclectic social and cultural blend of the Deccani states, as well as the poetic sensitivities of the sultans, artists at the courts of Golconda, Bijapur and Ahmadnagar fused local pictorial traditions with those from Mughal and other Indian schools, as well as from Central Asia, Persia and Turkey, and infused them with a powerful, almost otherworldly sense of lyricism and allegory to create distinctive and highly alluring compositions. Mark Zebrowski commented that “a surprisingly large proportion of the surviving masterpieces of Indian painting was produced for the mysterious sultans who ruled the Deccan” (Zebrowski 1983, p.7), while Navina Najat Haidar described Deccani art as poetic in character, with a sense of fantasy, lyrical movement of line, glowing colours, enigmatic shifts of scale, and a seductive emphasis on mood, and yet maintaining a rigor and mastery over formal idioms that leads to the creation of distinctive, exciting stylistic expressions of intellectual depth and profundity (Haidar in Haidar and Sardar 2015, pp.15-16, 19). The present painting has all of these qualities.
THE PAINTING
On the verdant grassy bank of a pond, a large herd of long- and short-horned cattle graze contentedly, watched over by two herdsmen, one kneeling in the centre milking a cow, the other standing at left wearing a black hooded cloak and resting on a staff in front of a cow giving birth to a calf – a remarkable and eye-catching vignette. All the cows have gold tips to their horns, marking this herd out as special, possibly sacred, hinting at spiritual and mystical aspects in the scene. Gold highlights are also used for the trunks of the trees next to the milking cow and above the birthing cow, as well as in the rocks around the shepherd at upper right. Growing in the pond are colourful lotus plants and numerous, dark, fern-like water plants, which are almost invisible unless observed closely. Two pairs of red-billed egrets stand at either side of the pond, and between them are twelve pairs of ducks. Barely visible against the dark-grey of the water are two oversized butterflies alighting on the lotus flowers. This type of unexpected shift of scale is a leitmotif of many Deccani paintings (see Haidar 2016 for an essay on this subject, including a very similar oversized butterfly, fig.4, p.23). Further up the slope on the drier ground, sheep and goats graze on sparse tufts of grass, while some of the goats reach up to chew on the leaves of the large trees. A third herdsman, wrapped in a cloak, sits peacefully on the ground at the foot of the rocky outcrop A few adventurous goats are exploring the rocks above, at the top of which sit two ascetics, one inhaling, eyes closed, on a huqqa pipe, the other gazing down on the scene below. In the trees at the upper level are numerous birds, either singles or in pairs, and a pair of striped squirrels. Far off in the sky is a flight of five birds, their tiny size indicating their distance.
It is a mesmerising scene, with a superbly balanced composition, a strong but harmonious palette and numerous charming details and vignettes. In addition to the strong sense of lyricism and enchantment, there is a degree of realism in the artist’s depiction of how animals behave and interact with humans. The brown cow being milked at centre is turning towards the herdsman, mouth open in noisy protest, perhaps at the fact that her calf, who stands lowing in hunger, is temporarily being denied its sustenance. The look on the herdsman’s face as he turns towards the cow seems to suggest understanding and a silent apology. The second herdsman stands watching the cow giving birth, and the slight frown lines on his forehead and pinched eyebrows imply that, although he is patiently letting nature takes its course, he is nevertheless slightly anxious and concerned for the labouring animal. The partially bent hind legs of the cow is another small naturalistic detail.
Archer stated that "The forest life, a regimen prescribed for certain kinds of ascetics, may well be its underlying theme, but the plethora of animals, the cattle marked as if for an autumn saturnalia, their varied stances and joyous motions, make it an ecstatic celebration of nature herself” (Archer 1960, pl.31). The theme of fertility is reinforced in several ways. It is noticeable that almost all the birds and wild animals are pictured as pairs – pairs of ducks and egrets in the pond, pairs of squirrels at upper left, and multiple pairs of birds in the upper trees. The inclusion of pairs of animals or birds was a visual trope in Indian painting (and other traditions) generally symbolising fertility and fidelity, and the artist’s decision here to include so many pairs reinforces the idea of natural fecundity that is directly expressed in the vignette of the cow giving birth.
There may also be symbolism embedded in the landscape and composition. In the lower part of the picture the scene seems to represent the material world and the earthly realm, with animals and birds feeding and giving birth, and the humans engaged in the practical duties of herdsmen. Higher up the composition, the theme and the landscape itself become more ascetic, moving from the lush, watery foreground up to the more arid rocky outcrop where the two holy men sit in meditative contemplation. Their stony hill offers little in the way of food, and it is as if they are sustained by inner spiritual nourishment. The only thing above them is a slim strip of sky with a distant flight of birds. They are close to the heavens physically and spiritually.
The near-contemporary inscription in the upper border (see above) is similar to a formula used by palace librarians at Bikaner and it is possible that this painting may once have formed part of the Bikaner palace collection (Archer 1960, pl.31). On the verso is an inscription in black ink in an early 20th century, English hand reading “1000£ Goats and Cattle on the Hill Side Very Old No. 48”