Celebrating Asian Art

Indian and Islamic Art

Amongst the Indian paintings being offered is an exceptionally fine leaf from the Akbarnama depicting Sher Khan Sur’s capture of Rohtasgarh Fort in 1538 A.D. Ascribed to the artists La’l, Dhanu and Khem Karan, Mughal India, 1595-1600 – it is significant being ascribed to no less than three artists and the design and palette of the painting, as well as its condition, are exceptional. Another fine painting is a jewel-like folio from a small but exquisite Shahnama manuscript made at the Bijapur court, Deccan in about 1610. Entitled Rustam before Kai Kavus having knocked down Tus, this theatrical scene takes place in a sumptuous palace chamber, in front of the enthroned Kai Kavus, a mythological shah of Iran, where the swashbuckling hero Rustam has already knocked Tus to the floor and is plainly – hand on sword – about to dispatch him, his action clearly condoned by the king. Other folios from this manuscript are in a number of U.S. museums. From the early eighteenth century is a folio from the album of the Swiss engineer resident at Lucknow, Antoine Polier (1741-95), from the desert state of Bikaner, with Rama standing with his brother Lakshmana, while Sita and Lakshmana’s wife Urmila converse in the pavilion above. The particularly fine detail is a feature of Bikaner paintings circa 1700.