Oliver White
Head of Department
Lot 265*
A nobleman riding on a composite horse consisting of animals and human figures, accompanied by two female angels Datia, circa 1770
8 April 2014, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £23,750 inc. premium
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A nobleman riding on a composite horse consisting of animals and human figures, accompanied by two female angels
Datia, circa 1770
Datia, circa 1770
gouache and gold on paper, border trimmed, inscription in naskhi script verso, framed
217 x 294 mm.
217 x 294 mm.
Footnotes
Provenance:
Private collection, South Africa.
Composite subjects (narikunjara) were Persian in origin, though the exact meaning of the genre is obscure. It became more popular in Mughal India in the 18th Century, and by the 19th Century Europeans were eager patrons of artists working on such subjects, doubtless drawn by their strangeness. For other examples 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 Library, London 1982, no. 207.
The inscription, which is unclear and is possibly in Urdu, reads: Picture of mortoon [murtun?], magic/bewitched, [value] 300 rupees. The Sanskrit word murtti or murti means a solid body, visible shape, embodiment, figure etc.