Page 84 - ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND INDIAN WORLDS Carpets, Ceramics Objects, Christie's London Oct..27, 2022

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65
RUSTAM RESCUES BIHZAN FROM THE
PIT
SUB-IMPERIAL MUGHAL INDIA, CIRCA 1605
From the Shahnama of Firdawsi, opaque pigments
heightened with gold on paper, 2ll. black nasta'liq
divided in four columns above and below, set
between gold, black and red rules, the reverse
with 25ll. black nasta'liq divided in four columns,
headings in red, set between gold, red and black
rules
Painting 6æ x 4æin. (17.5 x 12cm.);
text panel 8q x 5in. (21.6 x 12.6cm.);
folio 10¿ x 6qin. (25.8 x 16.5cm.)
£8,000-12,000 US$9,200-14,000
€9,200-14,000
PROVENANCE:
Anon, sale, Sotheby's, New York, 20 March 2001,
lot 27.
EXHIBITED:
Blumen - Bäume - Göttergärten - Indische
Malerei aus sechs Jahrhunderten, Museum für
Völkerkunde,Hamburg, 17 March - 27 October
2013.
LITERATURE:
L.V. Habighorst, Moghul Ragamala, Koblenz, 2006,
fig. 5.
L.V. Habighorst, Blumen - Bäume - Göttergärten,
Koblenz, 2011, fig. 122, p. 150.
Bihzan, the Iranian warrior, has wandered into
the enemy territory of Turan to enjoy the Spring
Festival. There he sees and instantly falls in love
with Manizheh, daughter of the Turanian ruler
Afrasiyab. Spending three blissful days together
in Manizheh’s tent, news soon reaches Afrasiyab
who is outraged. In anger he casts Bihzan into
a pit to be sustained by food which Manizheh
has had to beg for. Rustam eventually travels to
Turan to rescue Bihzan with only the great hero
possessing the strength to remove the capstone.
This colourful depiction of this tale is most
likely from the same manuscript from which
two other illustrations are known in the Edwin
rd
Binney 3 Collection, San Diego Museum of
Art (1990.322) and Los Angeles Museum of Art
(M.71.49.3). The illustrations have been attributed
as Sub-imperial Mughal and likely commissioned
by a Muslim Mughal courtier (E. Binney, Indian
Miniature Painting from the Collection of Edwin
Binney 3rd, exhibition catalogue, Portland Art
Museum, 1974, p.62). The quality of painting is
superior to popular Mughal works although the
colours – especially the strong use of yellow – are
of a different tonality to those found in imperial
painting (P. Pal, Indian Painting, volume 1, Los
Angeles, 1993, p.292).
82 In addition to the hammer price, a Buyer’s Premium (plus VAT) is payable. Other taxes and/or an Artist Resale Royalty
fee are also payable if the lot has a tax or λ symbol. Check Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of this catalogue.
A YOGI WITH HIS TWO YOUNG
ATTENDANTS
BY DHANRAJ, MUGHAL INDIA, 1595-1600
Brush drawing in brown and black ink with colour
washes heightened with gold on paper, set within
pink upper and lower borders with gold floral
designs and gold rules, laid down on a gold-
sprinkled green album page with red rule, inscribed
in lower right corner in nasta'liq, reverse with 25ll. of
black nasta'liq arranged in four columns, heading in
gold, intercolumnar inscriptions, set between gold
and polychrome rules
Drawing 5¡ x 3qin. (13.8 x 8.8cm.);
folio 10 x 5win. (25.2 x 14.8cm.)
£15,000-20,000 US$18,000-23,000
€18,000-23,000
PROVENANCE:
Spink and Son,
Private Collection, Japan
EXHIBITED:
Mystik - Die Sehnsucht nach dem Absoluten,
Museum Rietberg, Zürich, 23 September 2011 - 15
January 2013.
LITERATURE:
J.P. Losty, Paintings from the Royal Courts of India,
Francesca Galloway catalogue, London, 2008,
no. 3,
L.V. Habighorst, ‘Caricature and satire in Indian
miniature painting’, in M. Horstmann and H.
Pauwels (eds.), Indian Satire in the Period of First
Modernity, Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2012,
pp. 117-32, fig. 1,
J.P. Losty, Indian Paintings from the Ludwig
Habighorst Collection, Francesca Galloway,
London, 2018, no. 23.
INSCRIPTIONS:
'amal-e Dhanraj, "work of Dhanraj"
This delicate work depicts an elderly ascetic
perched on a rocky overhang and attended by
two young men. One is playing music whilst the
other bows respectfully with hands to head in
the anjali gesture of respect. The figures and
tree are carefully modelled and coloured with the
European cityscape behind acknowledging the
influence of European prints which by this time
had disseminated through the Mughal court. The
whole scene is lightly coloured in the nim qalam
style, literally meaning ‘half pen’, which was
particularly favoured around the turn of the 17 th
century. For a fuller discussion of nim qalam refer
to lot 64 in this sale.
Portraits of ascetics were a popular subject in
Mughal painting in the late 16 and early 17 th
th
century. With nudes uncommon in Mughal
India, the near naked bodies allowed the artist The artist Dhanraj, whilst not the most prolific, also in the British Library (IM.61-1949). He was
to showcase their skill at anatomical drawing has works dating from the 1580s until the early responsible for a number of nim qalam works
whilst also assembling groups with meaningful Jahangiri period. Usually his name is mentioned including a painting of elephants in a landscape in
spatial relationships. The restricted use of in collaborative works, often as the designer of the Royal Collection (RCIN 1005042) which, like
colour here gives further emphasis to the the page. This is the case with three paintings the present painting, underscores his proficiency
drawing. A very similar Mughal nim qalam work, in the British Library Baburnama (Or.3714), of spatial arrangement. Two illustrations
but with an expanded view and including more including the illustration of Babur approaching attributed to Dhanraj from the ‘second’
characters, is illustrated in R.K. Tandan, Indian the fort at Gwalior. He was also responsible for a Akbarnama of 1596-97 were recently sold by
Miniature Painting: 16th through 19th centuries, preparatory illustration for a copy of the Khamsa Hôtel Druout Paris, 15 May 2019, lot 30.
Bangalore, 1982, fig.9. of Nizami commissioned by the Emperor Akbar
83