Painting
1610-1615 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The study of an Indian black buck being led by its keeper was painted between about 1610 and 1615 by the Mughal court artist Manohar, who signed his work on the green ground at top and bottom of the painting. The posture of the keeper who bends one knee, crouching slightly, while looking over his shoulder, is conceivably inspired by the figure of Joseph in Albrecht Durer's engraving The Flight to Egypt. Engravings by, or after, Durer reached the Mughal court in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, brought mainly by the Jesuits who came from Portuguese Goa, and in several cases were copied directly by the imperial artists. Manohar has signed the page, with his name in a suitably humble position beneath the forelegs of the animal 'Manohar banda' and continues at the top of the painting 'Jahangir shahi'. He is therefore the servant, beholden to the king Jahangir.
Little is known of Manohar, but contemporary ascriptions to manuscripts attest to his having entered royal service under the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) and he became one of the most important artists of his son and successor, Jahangir (r. 1605-1627). Floral borders were added to his painting late in the reign of Jahangir or early in the reign of Shah Jahan, and the page was preserved in a royal album which became dismembered at some unknown date. This folio was bequeathed to the museum by Lady Wantage in 1921.
Little is known of Manohar, but contemporary ascriptions to manuscripts attest to his having entered royal service under the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) and he became one of the most important artists of his son and successor, Jahangir (r. 1605-1627). Floral borders were added to his painting late in the reign of Jahangir or early in the reign of Shah Jahan, and the page was preserved in a royal album which became dismembered at some unknown date. This folio was bequeathed to the museum by Lady Wantage in 1921.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper |
| Brief description | Painting, Indian black buck, by Manohar, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1610-1615 |
| Physical description | Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, an Indian black buck, facing left, is bulled forwards by its keeper who bends his body and looks backwards over his shoulder towards the animal. He wears a jama of dark orange, shalwar of pale mauve, and slippers with scarlet bands. His turban is white and he has an earring in his right ear. The ground is pale green. Above and below the picture are bands of Persian verses in sloping lines. Flowering plants outlined in gold and painted with colours, now very faded, fill the borders. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | An Indian black buck, facing left, is bulled forwards by its keeper who bends his body and looks backwards over his shoulder towards the animal. He wears a jama of dark orange, shalwar of pale mauve, and slippers with scarlet bands. His turban is white and he has an earring in his right ear. The ground is pale green. Above and below the picture are bands of Persian verses in sloping lines. Flowering plants outlined in gold and painted with colours, now very faded, fill the borders. |
| Styles | |
| Marks and inscriptions | manohar bande-ye/ shah-e jahangir (The Persian inscription is written in black ink and begins at the bottom of the picture, ending (and partly cut off), at the top.)
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| Credit line | Bequeathed by Lady Wantage |
| Object history | Part of the bequest of the Right Honourable Harriet Sarah Baroness Wantage, of Locking House, Wantage Berks, widow of the first and last Baron Wantage, V.C., K.C.B., V.D. R.P. 1920-8342, 1920-5869, 1921-3081, 1921-177 |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The study of an Indian black buck being led by its keeper was painted between about 1610 and 1615 by the Mughal court artist Manohar, who signed his work on the green ground at top and bottom of the painting. The posture of the keeper who bends one knee, crouching slightly, while looking over his shoulder, is conceivably inspired by the figure of Joseph in Albrecht Durer's engraving The Flight to Egypt. Engravings by, or after, Durer reached the Mughal court in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, brought mainly by the Jesuits who came from Portuguese Goa, and in several cases were copied directly by the imperial artists. Manohar has signed the page, with his name in a suitably humble position beneath the forelegs of the animal 'Manohar banda' and continues at the top of the painting 'Jahangir shahi'. He is therefore the servant, beholden to the king Jahangir. Little is known of Manohar, but contemporary ascriptions to manuscripts attest to his having entered royal service under the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) and he became one of the most important artists of his son and successor, Jahangir (r. 1605-1627). Floral borders were added to his painting late in the reign of Jahangir or early in the reign of Shah Jahan, and the page was preserved in a royal album which became dismembered at some unknown date. This folio was bequeathed to the museum by Lady Wantage in 1921. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | IM.134-1921 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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