The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (reg. 1658-1707) enthroned
Deccan, circa 1700
Deccan, circa 1700
gouache and gold on paper, inscribed in nasta'liq script 'Alamgir Padshah, mounted on an album page with brown and cream gilt-decorated inner borders, wide outer border with intertwining vegetal motifs in gold on a light orange ground, unframed
310 x 198 mm.
310 x 198 mm.
Sold for
£3,600
inc. premium
Footnotes
- Provenance:
Private UK collection: acquired in the early 1980s at Maggs Bros. See also Maggs Bros., Oriental Miniatures and Illumination, Bulletin no. 30, January 1979, no. 12.
The emperor's honorific name was 'Alamgir but he is universally known as Aurangzeb. The hexagonal throne is more commonly used in depictions of the imperial line of descent, with the dominant figures seated on this type and the descendants on square thrones. It has been suggested that the Deccani artist of the present lot was unfamiliar with the exact implications of such symbolism. For examples, see S. Stronge, Painting for the Mughal Emperor: the Art of the Book 1560-1660, London 2002, pl. 112, and L. Y. Leach, Mughal and other Indian Paintings in the Chester Beatty Library, London 1995, no. 3,29.
Category: Islamic and Oriental Art / Islamic and Indian Art
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