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Lot 163

A princess cantering on a composite horse made up of animals, fish, birds and humans, alongside a demon wielding a mace
Delhi, by Zafar Ali Khan, circa 1800

2 April 2009, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond Street

£3,000 - £5,000

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A princess cantering on a composite horse made up of animals, fish, birds and humans, alongside a demon wielding a mace
Delhi, by Zafar Ali Khan, circa 1800

gouache on paper, inscribed in Urdu in naskhi script at bottom the work of Zafar Ali Khan, the title (literally 'the design for the picture of the horse'), and the phrase kuncha Rahman, 'brush-work of Rahman', framed
213 x 326 mm.

Footnotes

Composite subjects are unusual in Indian painting, influenced by earlier Persian artists. The practice became popular in Mughal India in the 18th Century and by the 19th Century, Europeans were eager patrons of artists working in Delhi on such subjects. For comparison see E. Binney, The Mughal and Deccani Schools, Indian Miniature Painting from the collection of Edwin Binney III, Portland 1973, no. 31; M. Archer, Company Drawings in the India Office Library, London 1972, no. 169, xxvi & xviii; T. Falk and M. Archer, Indian Miniatures in the India Office Libary, London 1982, no. 207.

The word kunch is from kuchi, a Hindi word meaning a brush for painting or a weaver's brush.

Additional information