This painting was probably done for the Mughal emperor Jahangir (r.1605–1627) when he was still a prince living in the 1590s at Lahore, the northern capital of the Mughal empire, now in north-east Pakistan. The Jesuit Father Jerome Xavier, who was in Lahore at the same time, wrote in 1598 that the prince collected European paintings and prints and that he had seen the prince’s artists copying them. One of the images he saw them copying was a Descent from the Cross, a comparatively rare subject in Mughal painting. Although there is no evidence that this painting is precisely that mentioned by Jerome Xavier, it is of the same period. The composition is based on an engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi after a lost original by Raphael, and incorporates landscape details from other European sources.
The painting has been detached from a volume, otherwise intact and still at the V&A, known as the ‘Small Clive Album’. It was formerly owned by Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive of Plassey (1725–1774).
Physical description
Two ladders rest againt the cross allowing two figures to support the dead body of Christ from below as they release him from his crucifixion, and two more to hand him down from the top. Angels and women gather in the foreground comforting, or watching, Mary Magdalene. Two dogs in the foreground crouch near a skull and bones. In the background is a city in pale grey tones; in the sky filled with blue clouds, two angels blow trumpets with three putti nearby, the central one holding a long paper scroll. Four heads of putti with wings hover at the top.
Place of Origin
Lahore, Pakistan (probably, made)
Date
ca. 1598 (made)
Artist/maker
unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Dimensions
Height: 23.9 cm calligraphy, Height: 19.4 cm painting only, Width: 9.5 cm calligraphy, Width: 11.7 cm painting
Object history note
The painting was formerly bound in a volume known as the "Small Clive Album", owned by Robert Clive (1725-1774). It was detached from the album, which is otherwise intact and still in the museum, for display.
Descriptive line
The Deposition from the Cross; opaque watercolour and gold on paper; Mughal; probably Lahore, ca.1598.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Robert Skelton, "Two Mughal Lion Hunts", Victoria and Albert Museum Yearbook 1969, fig. 12, p. 44 Ebba Koch, "Jahangir and the Angels", in J. Deppert, ed., India and the West, South Asia Institute, New Delhi, 1983, fig. 14 (detail). 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.70, no.48. Susan Stronge, ed., The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms, V&A Publications, 1999, cat. 25, p. 212 and pl. 101.
T.Koezuka, ed.; Rosemary Crill, T. Koezuka and Susan Stronge, catalogue entries, The Arts of the Indian Courts, Osaka, 1993, cat. 11.
Exhibition History
The Art of the Sikh Kingdoms (01/01/1999-31/12/1999)
Materials
Paper (fiber product); Opaque watercolour
Categories
Paintings
Collection code
IND
