14th Jul, 2020 12:00
European & Asian Works of Art
108
THE EMPEROR AKBAR AND HIS NAVARATNAS, DELHI, MID 19TH CENTURY
A LARGE PAINTING OF THE EMPEROR AKBAR AND HIS NAVARATNAS, DELHI, MID 19TH CENTURY
gouache with gold on paper, laid on card, each character labelled in blue nastaliq script, the enthroned ruler seated under a canopy, flanked by his courtiers kneeling on a rug, a hilly landscape with lake in the background, scrolling floral border
55.5 x 71cm
Provenance: Private Collection, London
The navaratnas, or nine key figures in Akbar's inner circle depicted here, are identified (left to right): Abdul al-Rahim Khan Khanna (the poet and astrologer), Faizi (another court poet), Raja Tod[ar] Mal (Akbar's Finance minister), Abu'l Fazl (grand vizier and chronicler]), Akbar (Jalaluddin Nauratan Akbar, the scene dated AH 1000/1591/2 AD, Raja Birbil (or Mahesh Das), Zain Khan Koka (governor of Kabul), Mullah Abdul Qadir [Badayuni], Tansen (the court singer), Hakim Abdul Fateh [Gilani]. This large scale painting is typical of the 19th century Delhi style; as the prestige and power of the Mughals declined, painting became ever more grandiose. Its style and treatment of the foliate border are similar to images depicting the later and contemporary emperor Akbar II, an example of which is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, See Mildred Archer, 'Company Paintings: Indian Paintings of the British Period', London and Ahmedabad 1992, no.42.
No Reserve
Sold for £4,200
A LARGE PAINTING OF THE EMPEROR AKBAR AND HIS NAVARATNAS, DELHI, MID 19TH CENTURY
gouache with gold on paper, laid on card, each character labelled in blue nastaliq script, the enthroned ruler seated under a canopy, flanked by his courtiers kneeling on a rug, a hilly landscape with lake in the background, scrolling floral border
55.5 x 71cm
Provenance: Private Collection, London
The navaratnas, or nine key figures in Akbar's inner circle depicted here, are identified (left to right): Abdul al-Rahim Khan Khanna (the poet and astrologer), Faizi (another court poet), Raja Tod[ar] Mal (Akbar's Finance minister), Abu'l Fazl (grand vizier and chronicler]), Akbar (Jalaluddin Nauratan Akbar, the scene dated AH 1000/1591/2 AD, Raja Birbil (or Mahesh Das), Zain Khan Koka (governor of Kabul), Mullah Abdul Qadir [Badayuni], Tansen (the court singer), Hakim Abdul Fateh [Gilani]. This large scale painting is typical of the 19th century Delhi style; as the prestige and power of the Mughals declined, painting became ever more grandiose. Its style and treatment of the foliate border are similar to images depicting the later and contemporary emperor Akbar II, an example of which is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, See Mildred Archer, 'Company Paintings: Indian Paintings of the British Period', London and Ahmedabad 1992, no.42.
Auction: European & Asian Works of Art, 14th Jul, 2020
