Khwaja Khizr Khan

Physical description

The painting depicts an image of the legendary Muslim saint, Khwaja Khizr, standing on a large fish swimming on the surface of water. The saint holds out his hands in prayer with a rosary looped over his left hand. He is facing left and is dressed in robes in his traditional colour of green. The outer robe has wide sleeves under which he wears a darker robe with narrow sleeves. He also wear a green rounded turban with one end falling down his back. He wears black-heeled shoes and dark green trousers which fall over the top of his shoes. The grey-scaled fish has a pink tail and underbelly and swims on top of wavy grey water which is set against a pale, almost colourless, sky at the horizon which is midway up the surface of the painting and rises up to the top, becoming streaked with gold and touches of pale mauve.
The painting has a double frame of pale brown and dark blue paper decorated to match those on the opposite page (IS.48:11/B-1956) with floral and foliated scrolling patterns and outlines in gold, white black and a pale blue ruled outer line on the main border. This, too matches that of the previous page and has an ivory-coloured ground decorated with pink lilies and red poppies picked out in gold. The margins of the page have strips of buff-coloured paper stuck to them. A white line has been ruled along the inner edges next to a gold line between black ruled lines. A pale brown strip of paper has been added on the left hand side as a gutter for the album binding

Place of Origin

India (north, made)

Date

mid seventeenth century (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Opaque watercolour on paper

Marks and inscriptions

the numeral '12' inscribed in pencil

Dimensions

Height: 14 cm central painting, Width: 8.5 cm central painting, Height: 35 cm page, Width: 23 cm page

Object history note

This miniature painting is part of the Small Clive Album of Indian miniatures which is thought to have been given by Shuja ud-Daula, the Nawab of Avadh, to Lord Clive during his last visit to India in 1765-67. It contains 62 leaves on which are Mughal miniature paintings, drawing and flower studies on both sides. The binding is covered with an Indian brocade silk that may have been cut from lengths brought home by the 2nd Lord Clive, who served as Governor of Madras, 1799 to 1803. The album was sold from Powis Castle at Sotheby's sale, 16 to 18 January 1956, lot 332A.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Leach, Linda York, Mughal and Other Indian Paintings from the Chester Beatty Library, London, 1995, vol. II, No.6.239, p.662

Techniques

Painting (image-making)

Subjects depicted

Fish; Saints; Khizr, Khwaja

Categories

Paintings

Collection code

SSEA