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Not currently on display at the V&A

Painting

ca. 1600 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Bijapur (made)
Deccan (made)

At the end of the 16th century there were five Muslim sultanates in the Deccan, India: three of these are known to have produced painting but little has survived from any of them. The most outstanding patron of painting in the Deccan was the ruler of Bijapur, Ibrahim Adil Shah, who ruled from 1579 to 1627 and it is thought that this painting was done at his court. The painting came from the collection of the late Captain E.C. Spencer-Churchill.


Object details

Categories
Paintings
Animals and Wildlife
Bonita Trust Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project
SCRAN
Object type
Painting
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Paint
Watercolour
Gold
Paper
Painted
Brief description
Painting, horse and groom, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, probably Bijapur, Deccan, ca. 1600
Physical description
Painting, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, a horse and groom are set against a lush green field. An elaborate border to the image comprises the majority of the painting area. The surrounding decoration is made up of small illuminated panels from a Persian manuscript enclosed by an outer border containing gold scrolling stems and half palmettes filled iwth floral motifs.
Dimensions
  • Painting height: 11.4cm
  • Painting width: 10.3cm
  • Folio height: 44cm
  • Folio width: 27cm
Content description
A horse and groom are set against a lush green field
Style
Deccan
Object history
Formerly in the collections of Warren Hastings (Govenor-General of India 1774-1785) and Captain E. G. Spencer-Churchill. Sold to the museum (with other paintings in the Spencer-Churchill collection) in 1965.
Subjects depicted
Horse
Groom
Field
Summary
At the end of the 16th century there were five Muslim sultanates in the Deccan, India: three of these are known to have produced painting but little has survived from any of them. The most outstanding patron of painting in the Deccan was the ruler of Bijapur, Ibrahim Adil Shah, who ruled from 1579 to 1627 and it is thought that this painting was done at his court. The painting came from the collection of the late Captain E.C. Spencer-Churchill.
Bibliographic references
  • Swallow, Deborah and John Guy eds. Arts of India: 1550-1900. text by Rosemary Crill, John Guy, Veronica Murphy, Susan Stronge and Deborah Swallow. London : V&A Publications, 1990. 240 p., ill. ISBN 1851770224, p.112, pl.91.
  • Topsfield, Andrew, An introduction to Indian Court Painting, H.M.S.O., London, 1984, 0112903835 p. 24, cat. no. 15.
  • Sultans of Deccan India, 1500-1700 : opulence and fantasy / Navina Najat Haidar and Marika Sardar ; with contributions by John Robert Alderman [and 14 others]. Number: 9781588395665 (Metropolitan Museum of Art), 1588395669 (Metropolitan Museum of Art), 9780300211108 (Yale University Press), 0300211104 (Yale University Press) p. 102, cat. no. 32.
  • Swallow, D., Stronge, S., Crill, R., Koezuka, T., editor and translator, "The Art of the Indian Courts. Miniature Painting and Decorative Arts", Victoria & Albert Museum and NHK Kinki Media Plan, 1993. pp. 96-97, cat. no. 81
  • Gifts of the Sultan. The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2011 Number: 978-0-300-17110-5 p. 48, and p. 293 fig. 41, cat. no. 230
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
IS.88-1965

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O15476/painting-unknown/
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