Bowman, musician and dervish from the Kevorkian album

Historical period(s)
Mughal dynasty, Reign of Jahangir, 19th century
Movement
Mughal Court
School
Mughal School
Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 38.4 x 26.4 cm (15 1/8 x 10 3/8 in)
Geography
India
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1948.21b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Album, Painting
Type

Album leaf with painting

Keywords
bow, dervish, flower, India, lute, Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), musician, nasta'liq script, Reign of Jahangir (1605 - 1627)
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Label

This painting, produced in the early nineteenth century at the very end of the Mughal period, reveal the manner in which artists clung tenaciously to tradition.

The floral borders added to the painting, though highly abstracted when compared with earlier workmanship, reproduce the taste of older Mughal work, and speak in general of a nostalgia for the past.  When viewing such a painting, one must remember that copying in the Persian and Mughal context was considered a tribute to as master, and "signing" a master's name to a newly created work was a token of deep respect.

Published References
  • Sotheby's (London). Catalogues of Valuable Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, Comprising a series of very important Indian drawings by the court painters of the great Moghul emperors, Shah Jahan and Aurangzib, the property of a gentleman. London, December 12-13, 1929. cat. 118.
  • Milo Cleveland Beach. The Imperial Image: Paintings for the Mughal Court. Exh. cat. Washington, 1981. p. 191, fig. 38.
Collection Area(s)
South Asian and Himalayan Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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