Indian Skies

Elephant fights were a popular court entertainment in Mughal times. Here a tussle between elephants is becoming lively, as the mahouts urge their beasts on or hang on grimly to the harness ropes. Unusually this painting is ascribed to a woman artist, Khurshid Banu. Several ladies of the Mughal imperial household are known to have been skilled painters

In a striking portrait, Aurangzeb, the third son of the emperor Shah Jahan, appears in court dress behind a draped balcony, as though appearing ceremonially at a palace jharoka window. This portrait was probably painted by a Mughal-trained artist working in the Deccan, where Aurangzeb served as viceroy (1636-1644) and later as governor (1653-1657). In 1658 Aurangzeb would depose his father and succeed him as the emperor Alamgir. He banished painting and music from the court leading to the artists going to smaller Hindu kingdoms where they had freedom and created a renaissance in paintings.

Hindu Gods are shown with flowers in their hands and the Indian kings carried on with the tradition. Maharaja Raj Singh appears within a roughly sketched

jharoka window, used by rulers to show themselves to their people. Wearing the tall turban of the Rathor clan, he holds a rose heightened with colour like his lips and jewellery. The king was portrayed as a rasika, power united with aesthetic pleasure arising from the fragrant essence of the beauty and purity of the flower.

Gathering around the water cooler and connecting has remained unchanged through the centuries. In a scene based on a folk tale, the musical mode Kumbha is shown as a young woman lowering her pot (kumbha) into the village well to draw water. A prince on a hunting expedition has meanwhile arrived on the scene. As he requests a drink, the girl gazes demurely down at her pitcher.

A Kishangarh beauty at the MET exhibition. This artistic style with pointed nose, curvy eyes, serpentine hair locks and a Nayika makes it the Indian Mona Lisa.

In a night time wedding procession, Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah of Golconda (r.1580-1612) brings home his bride, the beautiful Hindu dancing-girl Bhagmati. Himself a Shia Muslim, Muhammad Quli had fallen in love with Bhagmati as a young prince. He would often ride out to visit her village, fording the sometimes dangerous Musi river to do so. After marrying she reputedly took the name Hyder Mahal after which the city of Hyderabad is named.

The painting departs from convention in that the bride is riding in front on the horse as opposed to the conventional doli seen here being drawn by the oxen.

This is a collection that is high on emotionality as opposed to technicality. It is worth a visit.