Painting thumbnail 1
Painting thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

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
  • Height: 24cm
  • Width: 18cm
Content description
Ladies and children.
Styles
Gallery label
THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE Opaque water colour and gold on paper Mughal, early 17th century IM.14-1913 Contact between Europe and the Mughals began in 1573, after Akbar’s capture of the great Gujarati port city of Surat. Here, he met Westerners from the Portuguese settlement of Goa to the south. This led to the first of several Jesuit missions from Goa to the Mughal court in 1582. The Jesuits brought prints and paintings of Christian subjects that influenced the work of the royal artists. This painting may be inspired by images of the presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple at Jerusalem, forty days after his birth. (2008)
Credit line
Purchased from Arthur Churchill, Esq., 1,Selwood Terrace, South Kensington, S.W
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 that together cost £141. These two paintings cost £18.
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 createdApril 29, 2008
Record URL
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