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拍品專文
This painting of a prince relaxing in a garden pavilion is executed in the soft and refined nim qalam style. Pale, mainly monochrome, washes of ink were highlighted with minimal polychrome highlights and accentuated in gold. The technique originated in Safavid Iran but became popular amongst Mughal court painters of the late 16th and early 17th century. This popularity is evidenced by the large number of nim qalam illustrations to the 'second', or 'British Library/Chester Beatty' Akbarnama, of circa 1603-05, which have a very similar palette to our painting. The present illustration relates particularly closely compositionally to several illustrations from the 'second' Akbarnama of Akbar presiding over his court. These include an illustration of Akbar rewarding his general by Govardhan (Chester Beatty Library, In 03.49) and Akbar appoints Muzaffar Khan as governor of Bengal by 'Inayat Khanazad (Chester Beatty Library, In 03.268).
This folio comes from the so-called 'Ardeshir album'. A.C. Ardeshir, a Bombay Parsi whose family had been early pioneers of the Indian publishing industry, assembled a large collection of Indian art which was dispersed through three sales at Sotheby's London in the early 1970s. The majority of the Ardeshir album, including the preset lot, was sold through Sotheby's on 26 March 1973.
The Ardeshir album was originally assembled by Nana Phadnavis, the Maratha Peshwa, during the reign of Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah (r. 1719-48). The album is recognisable for its gold floral trellis margins which Beach describes as the closest equivalent to those on the Windsor Padshahnama (Beach and Koch, The Book of Emperors, London, 1996, p.128). A number of paintings show signs of having been taken from other albums and remounted as they are now. Clearly the quality of the margins indicated the high calibre of works assembled in the album which contained works by the most prominent Mughal artists of the 17th century. Other folios from the album include two in the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto. One folio has a painting of Shah Jahan by Abu'l Hasan, circa 1628 (AKM135), and the other a painting by Aqa Reza of Salim and a captured cheetah, circa 1602 (AKM166). Another folio with a painting of a sufi concernt attributed to Hunhar, circa 1650-60, was sold at Sotheby's London, 30 April 2025, lot 556.
Our illustration relates very closely to a painting of a feast scene, also from the Ardeshir album, which is in the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena (M.2010.1.23.P). It seems very likely the two paintings belonged to the same original manuscript. Further folios from the Ardeshir Album sold at auction include in these Rooms 8 April 2008, lot 261; 26 April 2012, lot 16; 4 October 2012, lot 35; 25 April 2013, lot 163 and Sotheby's London, 15 October 2003, lot 36.
This folio comes from the so-called 'Ardeshir album'. A.C. Ardeshir, a Bombay Parsi whose family had been early pioneers of the Indian publishing industry, assembled a large collection of Indian art which was dispersed through three sales at Sotheby's London in the early 1970s. The majority of the Ardeshir album, including the preset lot, was sold through Sotheby's on 26 March 1973.
The Ardeshir album was originally assembled by Nana Phadnavis, the Maratha Peshwa, during the reign of Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah (r. 1719-48). The album is recognisable for its gold floral trellis margins which Beach describes as the closest equivalent to those on the Windsor Padshahnama (Beach and Koch, The Book of Emperors, London, 1996, p.128). A number of paintings show signs of having been taken from other albums and remounted as they are now. Clearly the quality of the margins indicated the high calibre of works assembled in the album which contained works by the most prominent Mughal artists of the 17th century. Other folios from the album include two in the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto. One folio has a painting of Shah Jahan by Abu'l Hasan, circa 1628 (AKM135), and the other a painting by Aqa Reza of Salim and a captured cheetah, circa 1602 (AKM166). Another folio with a painting of a sufi concernt attributed to Hunhar, circa 1650-60, was sold at Sotheby's London, 30 April 2025, lot 556.
Our illustration relates very closely to a painting of a feast scene, also from the Ardeshir album, which is in the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena (M.2010.1.23.P). It seems very likely the two paintings belonged to the same original manuscript. Further folios from the Ardeshir Album sold at auction include in these Rooms 8 April 2008, lot 261; 26 April 2012, lot 16; 4 October 2012, lot 35; 25 April 2013, lot 163 and Sotheby's London, 15 October 2003, lot 36.