Painting
ca.1600-1610 (made)
| Place of origin |
Contact between Europe and the Mughals began in 1573, when the emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) led his forces into Gujarat and captured the great port city of Surat. Here, he encountered Westerners for the first time. They were from the Portuguese settlement of Goa to the south, and as a result of this meeting Akbar decided to send an embassy to Goa. This led in 1582 to the first of several Jesuit missions from Goa to the Mughal court. The Jesuits brought prints and paintings that were shown to the royal artists, who began to copy or adapt elements from them. This scene may be very loosely based on a depiction of the presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple at Jerusalem. It probably dates to about 1600-1610, and was formerly in the collection of Arthur Churchill, from whom the museum bought it in 1913.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper |
| Brief description | Painting, adapted from Italian religious paintings, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Deccan, possibly Bijapur, ca. 1600-1610 |
| Physical description | Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, showing European women on the verandah of a building with a landscape behind them. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | Ladies and children. |
| Styles | |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Purchased from Arthur Churchill, Esq. |
| Object history | The painting (which has another European subject on the other side) was bought from Arthur Churchill in 1913 as part of a group of Mughal paintings (IM.7 to 16-1913) that together cost £141. These two paintings cost £18.;; Purchased from Arthur Churchill, Esq., 1,Selwood Terrace, South Kensington, S.W. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project. RP 1913-947M |
| Summary | Contact between Europe and the Mughals began in 1573, when the emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) led his forces into Gujarat and captured the great port city of Surat. Here, he encountered Westerners for the first time. They were from the Portuguese settlement of Goa to the south, and as a result of this meeting Akbar decided to send an embassy to Goa. This led in 1582 to the first of several Jesuit missions from Goa to the Mughal court. The Jesuits brought prints and paintings that were shown to the royal artists, who began to copy or adapt elements from them. This scene may be very loosely based on a depiction of the presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple at Jerusalem. It probably dates to about 1600-1610, and was formerly in the collection of Arthur Churchill, from whom the museum bought it in 1913. |
| Associated object | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IM.14&A-1913 |
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| Record created | April 29, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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