DECCAN, CENTRAL INDIA, CIRCA 1780

This joyful miniature depicts the meeting of the prophet Solomon, identified by his fiery halo, with the Queen of Sheba. Both figures, seemingly afforded equal status in their positioning, sit enthroned facing each other accompanied by retinues of peris and servants. Depicted seated below Solomon is his Vizier Asif ibn Barkhiya who is described as responsible for bringing the Queen of Sheba to Solomon. However, by far the most exciting aspect of this composition is the cacophony of animals and birds, from beetles to elephants, surrounding the pair. Solomon is believed to have held authority over not just humans but animals both temporal and spiritual, here demonstrated by mythical beasts and djinns. As Dorothea Duda states, "from the tiniest beetle via the entire menagerie of wild and tame animals, everything is here assembled that submits to Solomon’s universal power – including the world of myth and fable, such as the dragon, harpy, phoenix, or the double-headed eagle" (Duda, op. cit., p.148).

It appears that Deccani painters drew inspiration for their depictions of Solomon from Iranian prototypes. A painting of the ascension of Solomon, painted in the late 17th century in Golconda (Published in P.Pal, Court Paintings of India, New York, 1983, D7, p.201) bears a strikingly similar composition to an earlier painting from 16th century Tabriz (Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., inv.F1950.1). Meanwhile, the present painting seems to have provided inspiration for a very similar later painting of King Solomon and his court from the last quarter of the 19th century (Brooklyn Museum, inv.59.205.16).