GULSHAN MURAQQA’: AN IMPERIAL DISCRETION A THESIS IN ... · GULSHAN MURAQQA’: AN IMPERIAL DISCRETION Hamama Tul Bushra Candidate for the Master of Art History Degree University - [PDF Document] (2024)

GULSHAN MURAQQA’: AN IMPERIAL DISCRETION

A THESIS IN

Art History

Presented to the Faculty of the University

of Missouri-Kansas City

In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree

MASTER OF ARTS

by

HAMAMA TUL BUSHRA

B.A., National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan, 1989

Kansas City, Missouri

2016

© 2016

HAMAMA TUL BUSHRA

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

iii

GULSHAN MURAQQA’: AN IMPERIAL DISCRETION

Hamama Tul Bushra Candidate for the Master of Art History Degree

University of Missouri - Kansas City, 2016

ABSTRACT

This thesis researches two folios (pages) from the Gulshan muraqqa’, an

imperial album of the Mughal Empire. The two folios, The Poet and the Prince

and A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness, are currently in the permanent collection of The

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Visual descriptions,

focusing on style and subject matter, bring to light suppositions regarding artist

attributions and a strong sufi connection thus far relatively unexplored and

unrealized in relation to these paintings. Technical analyses of the folios are

presented and analyzed within context. This investigation demonstrates the

amalgamated presence of Indian, Persian, and European influences in these two

folios as representative of the Gulshan muraqqa’. Calligraphy panels of the folios

and border decorations contribute additional understanding of the sufi

underpinning.

iv

APPROVAL PAGE

The faculty listed below, appointed by the Dean of the College of Arts and

Sciences have examined a thesis titled “GULSHAN MURAQQA’: AN

IMPERIAL DISCRETION,” presented by Hamama Tul Bushra, candidate for the

Master of Arts degree, and certify that in their opinion is worthy of acceptance.

Supervisory Committee

Burton Dunbar, Ph.D. Committee Chair

Department of Art and Art History, UMKC

Maude Wahlman, Ph.D.

Department of Art and Art History, UMKC

Marcella Sirhandi, Ph.D.

Department of Art and Art History, UMKC

Kimberly Masteller

Curator of South Asian Department, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

v

CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... iii

ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................................................................... vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .....................................................................................x

Chapter

1. INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................1

2. VISUAL DESCRIPTION: THE POET AND THE PRINCE ......................6

Sufism ............................................................................................. 7

Persian Aesthetics and European Influence .................................... 9

Renaissance Humanism ................................................................ 12

Style .............................................................................................. 14

Border Surrounding The Poet and the Prince (recto) ................... 16

Calligraphy (verso): The Poet and the Prince ............................. 18

Borders Surrounding the Calligraphy (verso) ............................... 20

3. VISUAL DESCRIPTION: A BUFFALO HUNTING A LIONESS ..........24

Style .............................................................................................. 25

Border Surrounding A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness (verso)............ 28

Calligraphy (recto): A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness ....................... 31

Borders Surrounding the Calligraphy (recto) ............................... 32

4. VISUAL AND TECHNICAL ANALYSES OF THE TWO FOLIOS ........34

The Poet and the Prince (recto) .................................................... 34

Calligraphy (verso) The Poet and the Prince ............................... 37

A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness (verso) ............................................. 39

vi

Calligraphy (recto) A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness ......................... 40

5. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................43

ILLUSTRATIONS ................................................................................................46

BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................77

VITA ......................................................................................................................82

vii

ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure Page

1: Page from the Muraqqa Gulshan. The Poet and the Prince, (recto) 1595-97,

attributed to La’l. 22.3 x 11.5 cm.................................................................. 46

2: Page from Gulshan Album. Calligraphy (verso) 1595-1597. Opaque,

watercolor, ink, and gold on paper. Mughal India. Nelson Atkins Museum

of Art, Missouri. ............................................................................................ 47

3: Page from the Muraqqa Gulshan. A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness, (verso) 1595-

97, attributed to Farrukh Chela. 22.3 x 11.5 cm. .......................................... 48

4: Page from Gulshan Album. Calligraphy (recto) 1595-1597. Opaque,

watercolor, ink, and gold on paper. Mughal India. Nelson Atkins Museum

of Art, Missouri. ............................................................................................ 49

5: Jahangir Enthroned on an Hourglass, Bichitr, c. 1625. Opaque watercolor on

paper, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington ...................................................... 50

6: Akbar presiding over a Religious Debate in the House of Worship

(ibadatkhana) with the Jesuit Fathers Ridolfo Acquaviva and Francis

Henriquez in the City of Fathpur Sikri in 1578, c.1578. Ink, opaque

watercolor and gold on paper. Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, CBL

In.03.263. ...................................................................................................... 51

7: Darbar of Jahangir, Abul Hassan, c. 1615, Mughal India, Opaque watercolor

on paper, Heeramaneck, Freer Gallery of Art............................................... 52

8: Krishna is pampered by his ladies, folio from a Bhagavata Purana manuscript,

1520–40, North India (Delhi-Agra region), .................................................. 53

9: Folio 742b from the Shah Tahmasp Shahnama, attributed to Abd as-Samad,

Iran, Safavid dynasty, c. 1535, painting 28.4 x 27.3 cm, folio 47 x 31 cm.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Arthur A. Houghton,

Jr., 1970 (70.301.75) ..................................................................................... 54

10: Assad Ibn Kariba Launches a Night Attack on the Camp of Malik Iraj, Folio

from a Hamzanama (The Adventures of Hamza), Attributed to Basavana,

Shravana, and Tara (Indian, active mid-16th century), c. 1564–69, Mughal

India, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on cloth; mounted on paper, H. 27

in. W. 21 1/4 in., Rogers Fund, 1918, 18.44.1 .............................................. 55

viii

11: Akbar's Adventure with the Elephant Hawai, Folio from Akbarnama,

Composition by Basawan, c. 1590-95, Ink, opaque, watercolor, and gold on

paper, 37.5 x 23.8 cm, Victoria and Albert Museum, London ..................... 56

12: Dying Inayat Khan, Indian Mughal, circa 1618-19, attributed to Balchand,

10.5 x 13.3 cm. Ink and light wash on paper, accession number 12.14.679. 57

13: The dervish and the king. By Lal, 1595, Mughal. Illustration to the

Baharistan of Jami. 20.3 x 13 cm, page 30 x 19.5 cm. Ms Elliot 254, f. 17b

....................................................................................................................... 58

14: Akbar hunting in a qamargha, or the humiliation of Hamid Bhakari: page

form an Akbarnama manuscript. Mughal court probably at Lahore, dated by

association 1597. Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper; painting: 21.4

x 12.7 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. ........................... 59

15: Detail of Figure 1 (left) and Figure 13 (right) ............................................... 60

16: A man hanged, Akbarnama, attributed to Miskin c. 1604, Mughal. 34 x 22.5

cm. Lent by the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. ......................................... 61

17: A Youth with Wine Flask and Cup, circa 1600-1604, The Salim Album, Los

Angeles County Museum of Art. From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck

Collection, Museum Associates Purchase, M.81.8.12 (App. 1.26) .............. 62

18: Detail of border from page of Gulshan Album. Late 16th century Mughal

India. Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Missouri. ......................................... 63

19: Akbar stages a shikar near Lahore in 1567, c. 1590-95, 32.1 x 18.6 cm.

Akbarnama, composed by Miskina. Painted by Mansur, Victoria and Albert

Museum......................................................................................................... 64

20: Controlling an Infuriated Elephant ca. 1590, Mughal India, opaque

watercolor and ink on paper, Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad .................... 65

21: A Ruined Castle by Farrukh Chela, from lost manuscript based on Anwar-I

Suhayli or the Iyar-I Danish, Mughal period, late 16th century, opaque

watercolor and gold on paper, image 19.8 x 12.1 cm, page 33.4 x 20.8 cm,

Lucy Maud Buckingham Memorial Collection, 1919.951 ........................... 66

22: A Chained Elephant, Farrukh Chela. A page from the Gulshan Album,

Mughal India. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper................................... 67

23: A Hunting Party by Muhammad Sharif (possibly working with 'Abd as-

Samad) Mughal India, c. 1590. From the Jahangir Album. Opaque

ix

watercolor on paper. 42.23 x 26.67 cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. . 68

24: Jamshid Writing on a Rock by 'Abd as-Samad (with extensions attributed

here to Abu'l Hassan). From Jahangir Album. Mughal India, dated 1588.

Opaque watercolor on paper. 42.0 x 26.5 cm. Freer Gallery of Art,

Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. .................................................... 69

25: A Hunting Party and Jamshid Writing on a Rock .......................................... 70

26: A Chained Elephant and A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness .................................. 71

27: Detail - The Poet and the Prince ................................................................... 72

28: Detail - The Poet and the Prince ................................................................... 72

29: Detail - The Poet and the Prince .................................................................... 73

30: Detail - The Poet and the Prince ................................................................... 73

31: Border of The Poet and the Prince ................................................................ 74

32: Reverse of The Poet and the Prince, border detail, calligraphy verso .......... 74

33: Detail, central panel band, A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness ............................... 75

34: Detail, A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness .............................................................. 75

35: Detail, A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness .............................................................. 75

36: Detail, A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness .............................................................. 76

37: Detail, A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness (recto) .................................................. 76

38: Detail, A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness (recto) .................................................. 76

x

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Burton Dunbar for his valuable

advice. I am deeply indebted to Dr. Roschelle Ziskin for directing me to the

thesis topic and her encouragement. I am particularly grateful to Dr. Maude

Wahlman for her numerous discussions that continuously shaped my ideas. I am

most obliged to Dr. Marcella Sirhandi for sharing her insight and extensive

experience in Asian art history. I am extremely thankful to Kimberly Masteller

who afforded me the opportunity to assist her in the Islamic exhibition as an

intern at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and made the resources available for

this research. I am also thankful to Kimberly for facilitating the technical analysis

performed by Elisabeth Bacthelor, Kate Garland, Paul Benson, and Joe Rogers of

the Nelson-Atkins conservation department. I would also like to thank Marilyn

Carbonell for her generosity and accommodation in making Nelson-Atkins

Museum of Art library access available. I would like to thank my friends Tracey

Boswell, Amelia Nelson, Michelle Valentino and Kate Butler for being a constant

source of strength. Lastly, I would like to thank my husband and my daughters,

Imaan and Shalra, for accommodating me during the extensive number of hours

that I spent writing my thesis with love and patience.

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This thesis focuses on two folios (pages) from the Gulshan muraqqa’, The

Poet and the Prince recto/verso (Figures 1 and 2) and A Buffalo Hunting a

Lioness verso/recto (Figures 3 and 4). These folios are currently in the permanent

collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri.1 The

subject matter and the style of the paintings, the calligraphy on the reverse sides

(Figures 2 and 4), and also the borders framing the images are examined in this

thesis. Further examined are the influential elements of Persian culture, Islamic

Sufism, and Renaissance Humanism, apparent in these two folios. Interesting

results from technical analyses of the folios are briefly explored. Existing

research is limited, but recent scholarship combined with old research on this

album has created enough incentive for international scholars to further examine

the magnitude of this album and its significance in the Mughal period. This

research contributes to the very limited body of work on the Gulshan muraqqa’,

specifically in providing in depth analyses of two relatively unexplored folios.

1. The Gulshan album is now dispersed. Of the collection of 379 known folios, the

majority are held in the permanent collection of Golistan Library, Tehran, Iran. Twenty-five

pages are in Staatsbibliothek, Berlin, called the ‘Berlin Album’. These pages were brought in

from Iran in 1860-61 by a member of Freiherr von Minutoli’s embassy to Iran, Brugsch Pasha.

Several additional leaves are in European and American public and private collections. It has been

suggested, although without evidence, that the album arrived in Iran after Nadir Shah’s attack on

Delhi in 1741. Kambiz Eslami, “Golsan Album,” in Encyclopaedia Iranica, edited by Ehsan

Yarshater (New York: Encyclopeadia Iranica Foundation 2003), 104-108.

2

The practice of album making finds its roots in Persian tradition. Each

page consists of three elements: khatt (calligraphy, fine writing), tasvir

(illustration, drawing or painting, illuminated with gold and/or color), and hashiya

(borders).2 Other crafts involved include preparing ink, pigments, or colors; hand

making wasli (handmade paper); burnishing the wasli; mounting the paintings

with borders; preparing album covers and binding the albums.3

The albums were constructed with paintings on both facing pages

followed by calligraphy on the next facing pages. Each leaf has an illustration or

combination of illustrations on one side and a piece, or combination of pieces, of

calligraphy on the other side. These opulent paintings and fine calligraphy were

further adorned with beautifully decorated borders, which were cut from separate

sheets of paper. The central image is either placed in the center of the page or

placed closer to the bound side so that the outer margin is broader than the inner

margin.4 The size of the top and the bottom margins are uniform. The complete

bordered images were bound together luxuriously between two covers after they

were considered finished and decorated with lacquered paint and gold. The

paintings and calligraphies assembled in the albums were by different artists of

different times and places. Sometimes the images were enlarged by adding

engravings, paintings, illuminated bands, or sheets of paper on the edges;

likewise, oversized paintings were cut down to fit into the conventions of the

2. David J. Roxburgh, The Persian Album, 1400-1600 (London: Yale University, 2005),

21.

3. Jeremiah P. Losty, The Art of the Book in India (London: The British Library, 1982),

16.

4. The Gulshan album pages all have broader outer margins.

3

album.5 It is because of this patchwork construction of cut and paste images the

albums were aptly called muraqqa’.6

The Gulshan muraqqa’, the imperial Mughal album from a grand dynasty

of the Indian subcontinent, is marked by its opulence and superior quality. The

album is a compilation of eleventh to sixteenth century paintings, drawings,

calligraphy, and engravings by Mughal, Persian, Deccani, Turkish, and European

artists. This eminent muraqqa’ was commissioned by Jahangir c. 1588 when he

was still a prince.7 Riza Aqa, an immigrant artist from Persia, managed the studio

and oversaw work on the muraqqa’. The album was finally completed during the

reign of Jahangir’s son, Shah Jahan.

Jahangir r. 1605-1627 was the fourth emperor of the Mughal dynasty,

founded by his great grandfather, Babur (1483-1530), in 1526 A.D. The dynasty

united and controlled the Indian subcontinent for nearly two hundred years.

Babur and his descendants transformed their court from its nomadic Central Asian

heritage into a refined artistic culture, which was unprecedented in Indian history.

Inspired by the rich and luxurious Persian culture, combined with Indian riches,

the Mughals proved to be notable patrons of art, specifically exemplified in the art

of miniature painting.

5. Eslami, “Golsan Album,” 104-108.

6. Muraqqa’ is a Persian word and its literal meaning is patched or a patched garment.

Such patched cloaks were worn by sufi sages as a sign of poverty and humility. The tattered

garment was mended with many discordant patches stitched to hold the cloak together. This cloak

has a significant value to an initiated or a devout sufi, but is worthless to the uninitiated. An

initiated would not exchange it for all the material and riches of the world. Hence, in the world of

art, muraqqa’ is a well suited name for a book assembled by ‘patches’ of different paintings and

calligraphies collected from various times and different artists. Elaine Wright. Muraqqa’

(Virginia: Art Services International, 2008), p. xvii.

7. Eslami, “Golsan Album,” 104-108.

4

Babur’s son, Humayun r. 1530-40, 1555-56 laid the groundwork of the

Mughal studio, where the art of the Mughal court began. It further developed

under the patronage of his successor, Akbar r. 1556-1605, and reached its zenith

under Jahangir’s connoisseurship. After inheriting a vast and stable empire from

Akbar, Jahangir devoted the time and finances necessary to further refine the

quality of artistic production achieved in his father’s taswirkhana (painting

studio). Akbar commissioned illustrated historic, dynastic, religious and heroic

manuscripts to propagate his reign. Unlike his father, whose tasvirkhana

produced significant illustrated manuscripts, Jahangir preferred single page

paintings that could later be bound in a muraqqa’ and admired in their own

context and framework.8

Further, subjects for paintings during Jahangir’s reign were chosen from

everyday life rather than the historical or mythological subjects preferred by

Akbar. Paintings were commissioned for political motives, to record historical

events, as exhibitions of grandeur, as gifts, or simply to add into muraqqa’. The

portraits of emperors, courtiers, mystical figures of the East, religious and

political figures of the West, plants and animals were included in the patchwork

of imagery. These formal, informal, spiritual, worldly, extravagant and historical

paintings were kept in albums that were no larger than a medium-size sketchbook.

The Gulshan is an album that holds images selected exclusively from the

emperor’s personal collection. As an ardent collector of art, Jahangir is identified

as one of the most dedicated patrons of Mughal miniature paintings, and his

8. Pratapaditya Pal, Court Paintings of India 16th – 19th centuries (New York: Navin

Kumar), 55.

5

period is revered as the “Golden Age” of Mughal art in India.9 The emperor's

aesthetic sensibility and profound artistic knowledge is reflected in his careful

selection of images for the album. Jahangir’s own claim as a connoisseur of art is

asserted in his autobiography, Jahangirnama:

I derive such enjoyment from painting and have such expertise in judging

it that, even without the artist’s name being mentioned, no work of past or

present masters can be shown to me that I do not instantly recognize who

did it. Even if it is a scene of several figures and each face is by a different

master, I can tell who did which face. If in a single painting different

persons have done the eyes and eyebrows, I can determine who drew the

face and who made the eyes and eyebrows.10

Whether this statement is true or not, it illustrates the emperor’s passion for

paintings, both old and contemporary. The album is known for its fine quality of

images and the creativity of its integration, and is regarded as the most famous

album of the dynasty.11 Its exceptional quality is a manifestation of Jahangir’s

unprecedented artistic attention and taste, as explored in the following chapters.12

9. Hermann Goetz, “The Early Muraqqa’s of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir.” East and

West 8, no. 2 (July 1957): 157.

10. Jahangir, Jahangirnama, trans., Wheeler Thackson (New York: Oxford University

Press, 1999), 268.

11. Roxburgh, The Persian Album, 1400-1600, 16.

12. Milo Beach, Imperial Image: Paintings for the Mughal Court (Washington, DC: Freer

Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery), 26.

6

CHAPTER 2

VISUAL DESCRIPTION: THE POET AND THE PRINCE

The Poet and the Prince (Figure 1) illustrates a young prince holding a

book, leaning against a blossom tree with pink flowers. His attendant is standing

behind him holding a scarf. The young men are wearing Mughal attire and

Mughal style turbans; the prince has a plume in his turban, indicating his royal

status. The young men are in the presence of a bearded old man, who is stooped

with age and leaning over his staff wearing Persian headdress and the chola with

long sleeves covering his hands.1 The aged man holding a book in his hand

appears to be a sufi, an ascetic, mystic, and learned scholar; his gaze is directed at

the prince.

Although the painting lacks inscription, which sometimes appears on

Mughal paintings, the details suggest what the picture represents. The illustration

of the Persian poet and sufi is significant for Jahangir, as he and his ancestors took

pride in their Persian heritage and its culture of poetry celebrated by Mughal

royals and nobles.2 Jahangir’s inclination towards the divine appears in a painting

by his artist Bitchtr, which shows Jahangir’s predilection for a sufi saint over the

King of England James I and the Ottoman Sultan (Figure 5). Sufis were revered

and their company honored, their advice was valuable as they were considered

akin to God.

1 A chola is a typical garment worn over clothes in cold Persian weather.

2. The poets were generally patronized by the emperors, as their panegyric works were

dedicated to their patrons. Classic Persian poets like Sa’di, Hafiz, and Nizami were well read and

well repeated by the emperors.

7

Jahangir developed his proclivity towards the mystical in his father’s court

while growing up. Akbar was curiously interested in the theology of religion, and

often hosted scholars from different faiths. They would gather in his

Ibadatkhana, or House of Worship, to present their beliefs and engage in debates

(Figure 6). This practice liberated Jahangir from the conservative views of Islam.

He sought a deeper meaning of the higher Truth offered in the teachings of

Sufism.

Sufism

Sufis believe the knowledge of God cannot be found through logic or

intellectual processes, but only through direct experience. It is not a system built

for people to examine and learn from. The wisdom and higher truth of mysticism

cannot be taught to the masses. Instead, Sufism can only be understood by means

of “human exemplar, the teacher,” attained by a deeper bond between the master

and the pupil.3 Much of Mughal art is secular in nature, concerned with an

outward show of power or with the fleeting pleasures of life, yet the emperors and

princes also kept an eye turned towards the unseen world of spiritual illumination

and wisdom. For that reason, homage to great sufi saints and spiritual leaders was

paid and paintings of such subjects were favored.

The significance of the sufi for Jahangir is recorded in Jahangirnama, as

he describes his father’s despair for not having an heir to continue the Mughal

3. Idries Shah, Introduction to The Sufis (New York: Anchor Books, 1971), xxiii-xxiv.

8

legacy. In desperation, Akbar went to seek sufi Sheikh Salim Chishti’s blessing.

The sufi predicted the birth of three sons for Akbar, and his prediction was later

fulfilled. An heir, Jahangir, was born and named Salim after the sufi, a gesture of

honor and respect. Salim was Jahangir’s birth name, which he changed to

Jahangir (World Seizer) when he took the throne. This event established a

meaningful place of the holy men for Jahangir, who was a special child, an

answer to a sufi prayer.

Akbar paid special attention to Jahangir’s development and education.

Cultured Persian tutor, Abdul Rahim Khan Kahanan, was employed for his

schooling. As a result, Jahangir was fluent in Turkish, Persian, and Hindi by age

thirteen. He was also trained in the art of writing. Writing is considered one of

the most exalted pursuits for man in the Islamic world, and as a result, the works

of men of letters have contributed immensely to Indian culture. Jahangir

memorized works of many poets and it was the religious philosophy within the

poetry that interested Jahangir the most.4

Numerous references to the truths of mysticism, divine love, and

knowledge from the poetry of celebrated Persian poets like Sa’di and Hafiz are

made in Jahangirnama.5

Jahangir was especially attracted to the wisdom offered in the works of

thirteenth century Persian poet Sa’di of Shiraz. A scene from Jahangirnama

(Figure 7) shows that the most honored guest was Sa’di. He is represented in an

4. William Stoddart, Outline of Sufism: The Essentials of Islamic Spirituality (Indiana:

World Wisdom Inc., 2012), 3. The writings were the advice of morality and practice. The Sufis

hence, were the icons of knowledge, wisdom, and mysticism.

5. Jahangir, The Jahangirnama, 46, 388.

9

imaginary portrait and identified by the inscribed book of poems which he

presents to Jahangir. The painting dates c. 1615, where he appears to be a very

old man, much older than the aged men around him. Sa’di is believed to have

lived one hundred and ten years.6 In this painting, he is singled out by his central

location and his characteristic representation later in life. He is shown wearing a

chola, holding a staff, and bending beneath the weight of old age. Coincidently,

the old man in The Poet and the Prince shares the same characteristics as the old

Sa’di. Unlike the generic faces of the young men, the portrait of the sufi depicts

individuality. Perhaps the image represents Jahangir’s favorite poet, Sa’di.

Persian Aesthetics and European Influence

The figures (Figure 1) are situated in a landscape scattered with beautiful

flowers. Two cypress trees stand erect at the edge of an undulating stream that

runs through the landscape.7 The small hill on the right side overlaps the horizon

at a distance. The image exemplifies Persian aesthetics, which prevailed in

Jahangir’s studio.8 In addition, the European influence is illustrated in the

architecture of the distant city, which spreads across the left background; its

buildings are tightly stacked against each other. The high lifted background, the

middle ground, and the foreground suggest depth of field. The ambiance is a

6. Suzanne Marshall, “The Poet and the Prince,” in Bulletin: The Nelson Gallery and

Atkins Museum V, no. 4 (November, 1978), 11.

7. Interestingly, cypress trees, which appear so frequently in Mughal miniature

landscapes, are also seen in the art of Mesopotamian civilization. The trees continued to appear

within Arab, Chinese, and later Indian artwork.

8. Milo C. Beach, Grand Mogul: Imperial Painting in India (Williamstown, MA:

Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1978), 51.

10

recall of the romance of Persian poetry, infused with morality and wisdom. Here

the sufi scholar teaches the young prince to avail the youth similar to the

blossoming flower while it lasts, for time will pass like the water in the stream

and will not stay forever.9

It is important to recognize the development of Mughal painting in India,

where the local tradition of art was deeply rooted. Hindu painting (Figure 8) is

characterized by the use of intense colors loosely painted on flat surfaces. Its

composition is compartmentalized with strong forms. The visual impact of these

paintings is robust, different from the intricate and subtle Iranian works.

Rhythmic lines, fine and rich pigments applied carefully on superb surface

patterns, minute details, and strong control over technique are among the strong

characteristics of Persian art (Figure 9), which became infused in Indian painting

under the Mughals.10

The creation of a specifically ‘Mughal style’ in painting began with

Akbar's inheritance of a large kitabkhana (library) and its tasvirkhana when he

took the throne. Two Persian masters, Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd-as Samad, were

employed as directors of the tasvirkhana.11 Under their guidance, the studio was

expanded by hiring skilled local artists qualified in regional painting traditions.

Initially the integration of refined Persian aesthetics and the vigor of Hindu art

were fused together naively, eventually evolving into a distinct imperial character.

9. John W. Seyller, “Folios from Muraqqa’ Gulshan” (talk at the symposium of Echoes:

Islamic Art Exhibition at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, March 8-9,

2014).

10. John W. Seyller and Wheeler M. Thackston, The Adventure of Hamza: Painting and

Storytelling in Mughal India (Washington DC: Freer Gallery of Art, 2002), 44.

11. Humayan brought these Persian painters from the court of Shah Tahmasp with him

when he returned from exile in Persia.

11

Hamzanama, the first huge undertaking of an illustrated manuscript in Akbar’s

studio, exemplifies the development of imperial style (Figure 10).12 Each

painting was a collaboration of various artists working together on their specified

areas of expertise.

During the early period of his reign, Akbar preferred and commissioned

illustrated manuscripts of historical, dynastic, and religious narratives about the

emperor and his ancestors. During the later and mature part of his life, he focused

on commissioning lyrical manuscripts of poetry and prose. The illustrations of

earlier manuscripts lack the finesse that is apparent in the later paintings done for

poetic manuscripts like the Baharistan of Sa’di. The early compositions were

active, crowded, lively, and boldly colored, as seen in Akbar’s biography,

Akbarnama, where Akbar is shown heroically taming an elephant or conquering a

Rajput fort. Another illustration, Akbar’s Adventure with the Elephant Hawai

(Figure 11), represents Akbar and his dynamic personality.13

On the other hand, the poetical manuscripts produced later in Akbar’s

reign consist of fewer people, have soft color palettes, and wider views of distant

hills. There is better sense of perspective in landscape and architecture, borrowed

from European prints and engravings. They are more refined than the early

paintings. The Poet and the Prince shows all the characteristics of the later

Akbari period. Perhaps it was originally painted for a poetic project but never

12. Hamzanama means stories of Hamza. Hamza was the Prophet Muhammad’s uncle.

Hamzanama was painted on fabric instead of paper, and it consisted of 14 volumes, each

containing 100 illustrations.

13. Geeti Sen, Paintings from Akbar Nama. (Delhi. India: Lustre Press Pvt. Ltd., 1984),

26.

12

applied to it. The central subject may have been cut out of a larger painting to add

to the Gulshan album.14 The painting is extended from all four sides, as examined

in the technical analysis in Chapter 4.

Renaissance Humanism

During the Akbari period, interests in individualism, humanism, and

European Renaissance art grew. The Renaissance humanism influences of

European images and prints in Mughal art added a new chapter of "naturalism,

scientific perspective, and chiaroscuro," bringing figures to a realistic size.15 The

interest in individuality brought a new attitude towards the human figure. This

humanistic interest furthered the development of portraiture.16

The art of court portraiture began during Akbar’s reign, and the portraiture

of nobles, generals, musicians, and other eminent personalities were kept as a

record.17 It is further accounted by the court historian that Akbar sat himself for a

portrait painting, and even “ordered to have the likenesses taken of all the

grandees of the realm” and assembled in an “immense album.”18 Although no

folios from this album survived, there are individual portraits which scholars have

suggested were intended for the album. This illustrates the significance of the

album for Akbar, along with the production of illuminated books in Mughal court

14. It was common practice to reuse illustrations or paintings, incorporating them in new

projects.

15. Som P. Verma, Interpreting Mughal Painting: Essay on Art, Society, and Culture

(New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press, 2009), 103.

16. Ibid., 95.

17. Sen, Akbarnama, 50.

18. Wright, Muraqqa’, 39.

13

as a continuing Persian tradition. This emphasis on portraiture and album

creation further developed and flourished during the time of Jahangir. This

interest in portraiture is illustrated by the individuality of the sufi in the painting.

Given this context, it is reasonable to conclude that the old man with the hunched

back and long beard is Sa’di, the great Persian sufi poet of the thirteenth century.

It is hard to separate paintings from the later period of Akbar’s

tasvirkhana from Jahangir’s early studio paintings, as both were evolving on

similar concepts of humanism. However, Jahangir’s studio paintings quickly

evolved to reflect his interests in “visual realism, scientific accuracy, and

psychological insight.”19

Jahangir was intrigued by the wonders of the world and its peculiarities,

and he was known for his unconventional taste and interest in oddities. A unique

and curious account in Jahangir’s own words sheds some light on the eccentric

side of his personality. In Jahangirnama, the emperor mentions his courtier

Inayat Khan, who, weakened and near death from opium addiction, appears

asking permission to leave the court because of his deteriorating condition. Being

a curious observer of nature, Jahangir wrote that when he saw Inayat Khan,

He looked incredible weak and thin. ‘Skin stretched over bones.’ Even his

bones had begun to disintegrate… It was so strange I ordered the artists

to draw his likeness.20

Inayat Khan died just days later (Figure 12). Jahangir was interested in paintings

that truly capture the human condition.

19. Verma, Interpreting Mughal Painting, 95.

20. Jahangir, Jahangirnama, 280-281.

14

Style

There is some information on many of the artists who worked in Mughal

India, defining the characteristics of their personal styles may sometimes be

possible, it is challenging, especially given the variation in observations by

scholars and experts.21

The Poet and the Prince was attributed to La’l by Suzanne Marshall, the

intern curator at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, in 1977.22 La’l was the most

prolific painter in Akbar’s taswirkhana, contributing more than fifty paintings,

more drawings and finished paintings than any other painter.23 The style of La’l’s

known work is comparable to The Poet and the Prince, as exemplified by the

consonant formations and rendering of light and dark within the rocks in the

backgrounds of both The Poet and the Prince and The Dervish and the King

(Figure 13). The stacked architecture within both skylines is also characteristic of

La’l. The rendering of the trees within both paintings is convincingly similar.

John Seyller finds dissimilarities between the facial expressions and their

definitions in this painting and those within other known paintings by La’l.

Seyller attributes The Poet and the Prince to Mukand, another artist active in

Akbar’s atelier. Both La’l and Mukand have similar painting styles and both were

active during Akbar’s reign. Further research is needed to reach a consensus.

21. Susan Stronge, Painting for the Mughal Emperor (New York: V&A Publications,

2002), 11.

22. File 48-12 1 and 2, South Asian Department, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.

23. Asok K. Das, Mughal Masters: Further Studies (Mumbai, India: Marg Publication,

1998), 12.

15

Notably, the face of the old man appears distinct and is rendered in a

personal manner, whereas the faces of the princes are generic. The old man’s face

may have been painted by another artist. The style is most comparable with that

of Manohar – who, according to Milo Beach, an eminent scholar of Indian art,

was “the most brilliant,” and a wonderful Mughal painter.24 Manohar is

recognized for portrait paintings and his ability to create various expressions and

personalities. The sufi’s detailed face in The Poet and the Prince resembles

Manohar’s style. The sufi would fit in well amongst the other figures in

Manohar’s Akbar Hunting in a Qamargha (Figure 14), a crowded composition

with many unique and detailed faces. Noticeable similarities between the sufi and

the hunter include the stubbed nose, down drawn lips, and the soft and detailed

rendering and shading of the faces, and the precision of painting single hairs with

care (Figure 15).

Like his father, Basawan, Manohar was among the most observant

portraitists of the Mughal court. He probably worked closely with his father and

eventually surpassed him in quality. His figures have far more individuality than

those of mature painters of the court.25 The role of portraitist was always reserved

for senior artists.26 For this painting, the necessity of having the portrait done by

careful hands reinforces the significant position of the sufi, perhaps as Sa’di.

24. Milo C. Beach, Eberhard Fischer and B. N. Goswamy, Masters of Indian Painting:

1100-1650 (Artibus Asiae Publishers, 2011), 135.

25. Beach, Imperial Image, 112.

26. Beach, Fischer, and Goswamy, Masters of Indian Painting: 1100-1650, 139.

16

Border Surrounding The Poet and the Prince (recto)

The hashiya on the illustration side mainly contain floral, faunal, and

abstract motifs. The immediate source of themes and style in Mughal tradition is

derived from Safavid period and Bukharan imperial manuscripts.27 The hashiya

is an important element in album decoration, not only for its association with

illuminating the book and enhancing the beauty of the manuscript, but also in

protecting the image.

The early Mughal borders first appear in late Akbari manuscripts, with

emphases on human figures.28 In the early stages of these manuscripts, the border

drawings appear rudimentary and the style is loose and careless. The figures

appear static and inactive and seem unplanned within the composition. During

this time, the artistic style of the Mughal atelier was still evolving (Figure 16).

Likewise, the early hashiya from Jahangir’s studio differ from later inventions.

They consist of symmetrically placed cartouches with simple patterns and forms

of vegetal and rosettes (Figure 17). They appear rough and unpretentious with an

absence of finesse.

The later borders produced during Jahangir’s reign were brought to

perfection and signified the unprecedented height that border decoration had

reached.29 The manifestation of naturalistic landscape elements like trees,

27. Beach, Grand Mogul, 46.

28. The Mughal predilection for ‘humanism’ is emphasized by human figures painted in

borders of books, as opposed to the prototype idealized imagery of Safavid borders.

29. Jahangir’s son Shah Jahan continued the tradition of paying attention to borders in his

albums, but they were repeated and consistent.

17

animals, birds, and human forms gave significance to the borders. The inclusion

of figures and vignettes derived from European prints was Jahangir’s exclusive

contribution. Narrative hunting scenes and portraits of princes, often

psychologically probing, appear in color washes, contrasted against lustrous gold

backgrounds, providing a luxuriant quality. Further, the gold in these lyrical

compositions was often enhanced by intensely colored birds.30

The addition of the fully colored and carefully arranged pairs of birds are

another of Jahangir’s novel contributions. These birds seem to flutter out from

within the painting and spread through the page, creating a visual relationship

with the image. The bright colors of the birds are intensified against the soft

rendering of the background, which was painted in a warm luster of gold. The

brilliant enhancement of subtle margins decorated with fine arabesque and foliage

reflects a traditional style seen in Persian borders. The addition of very

naturalistic birds attests to Jahangir’s artistic sensibility and innovation. Among

the eight pair of birds in the border surrounding The Poet and the Prince, some

are shown in graceful movement, while others are simply there to enrich the

ambiance.

Each bird is painted in such detail that its specie is easily identified. The

birds may have been painted by Jahangir’s favored artist, Masur. He was singled

out by the emperor, who described him as “unique in his time,” particularly for

his brilliant paintings of birds, animals, and flowers.31 Masur is mentioned by

30. Stuart C. Welch, The Emperors’ Album: Images of Mughal India (New York:

Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987), 45.

31. John Guy and Jorrit Britschigi. Wonders of the Age: Master painters of India (New

York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011), 80.

18

name in Jahangirnama more than any other artist and always by his full title,

Nader al-Asri Ustad Mansur naqqash.

Calligraphy (verso): The Poet and the Prince

Nastaliq script developed in fourteenth century Persia and reached its

height between 1400 and 1600 CE. It is considered one of the most elegant and

expressive forms of aesthetic refinement in Persian culture. The specimen of

calligraphy (Figure 2) on the verso is done by Mir Ali c. 1528, an extremely

prolific Persian calligrapher, as indicated by his signature. Mir Ali perfected the

nastaliq style of writing and was appreciated not only for the content of his work,

but also for its technicality and visual quality.32 The specimens of text compiled

in the Gulshan muraqqa’ are mostly by this eminent artist whose writing was

considered, “among other writings as the sun among the other planets.”33

Mir Ali’s calligraphy was highly esteemed in Mughal courts and many

samples were brought to India by his son Mir Muhammad Baqir. Abu’l Fazl, who

authored Akbar’s biography, refers to Mir Ali as, “the perfector of the style of

calligraphy” and the one who has “left many masterpieces.”34 Another author,

Abd al-Baqi Nihavandi, lavishly describes Mir Ali as qiblat al-kuttab (the qibla of

the scribes).35 To increase the prestige of their libraries, the Mughals collected

32. Welch, The Emperor’s Album, 45.

33. Jeremiah Losty, “The ‘Bute Hafiz’ and the Development of Border Decoration in the

Manuscript Studio of the Mughals,” 856.

34. Prisilla P. Soucek, “Persian Artists in Mughal India: Influences and Transformations,”

Muqurnas, 169.

35. Soucek, “Persian Artists in Mughal India,” 167. Qibla is the direction Muslims face

while saying prayers. It is directs towards Kabah, the house of Allah. Calligraphers were

19

manuscripts that had been copied in nastaliq by the master calligrapher. Being

trained in this art form, Jahangir held a particularly high appreciation for Mir

Ali’s writings and acquired a vast collection of his work.

The text lines in the calligraphy pages of the album are often arranged

diagonally on white or occasionally on colored background.36 In this specimen,

the text lines are placed obliquely. The text is cut and pasted and shaped within

scattered clouds with smooth but irregular edges, which stand out with effect from

the colored and decorated gold background. This detailed decoration balances the

negative space around the effervescent clouds and highlights the beauty of the

writing and enhances its small size. The size of the text panel is matched with

that of its counter, the facing page, by pasting two colored decorated strips of

floral designs on the top and the bottom of the central image.

The actual language of the verse itself has been widely overlooked in

previous research. Wheeler Thackston, a distinguished editor and translator of

Persian text, provides the following translation:

A sapling of his stature has so taken root in my heart that if they pull the

root out a thousand times it will still come back up.37

The text alludes to the sufi philosophy of love. The love for the beloved

symbolizes the love of God. The poet expresses the divine love for God which is

so deeply rooted that it can never die even from constant pain and suffering. In

analyzing the meaning of this text, Beach emphasizes the verse’s infusion with

particularly exalted for their ability to replicate the Quran, which is considered a transcription of

the direct word of God.

36. Ernst Kuhnel and Hermann Goetz. Indian Book Painting: From Jahangir’s Album in

the State Library in Berlin (London: Strphen Autin and Sons, Ltd., 1926), 8.

37. Seyller, “Folios from Muraqqa’ Gulshan”.

20

metaphors. He proposes that it is not just a reference to the image of a beloved

figure on the reverse of the folio, but that it also has a relationship with the images

within the border.38 The calligraphy of the folio reinforces the importance of

Sufism within the Mughal dynasty.

Borders Surrounding the Calligraphy (verso)

The hashiya of the calligraphy specimen has a colorful assortment of

figures, some of which are portraits of Mughal princes and some are European

figures. The imagery within the border on the lower margin shows a man

transplanting a sapling. Another man and a woman on the outer side are each

holding a potted plant over their head. Out of eight carefully rendered figures, six

are individually involved in an activity related to planting. The poetry

metaphorically relates the love of the beloved to the tree, which is deep rooted in

the heart of the lover. The artist has practically shown the transplanting of the

tree in a landscape environment. The imagery of the border that surrounds the

text panel directly relates to the content of the text and it seems intentional. The

text alludes to the symbolic meaning of a deep-rooted tree, but the trees are held

in shallow containers. The symbolic meaning of the text seems to lose its

connotation, but its significance is essentially enhanced by the proximity and

directness of the imagery. This type of coordination between text and image on

the border may be quite rare within the album. Future research on the relationship

38. Ibid.

21

between the text and the imagery on the reverse or the opposing page may provide

a deeper understanding of the album and its patron.

The nim-qalam, or half pen, style of the border painting was particularly

exploited brilliantly during Jahangir’s reign, most notably in the Gulshan

muraqqa’.39 The dyed sepia paper of the border was predominant in traditional

border making and was innovatively used in the album. The gold luster used in

the central calligraphy panel is enhanced against the sepia color of the border.

Another fascinating element is the rendering of figures in the borders. Although

the general character of the marginal decoration had been established late in

Akbar’s reign in the sixteenth century, the figures become increasingly prominent

during Jahangir’s period.40 Eventually, they were highly colored and spatially

independent of the flat gold background.41

On the upper left corner of the border is an enthroned princely figure,

identified by his turban with a plume and a rose in his hand. Based on other

paintings of Murad, John Seyller, a scholar of South Asian art, identified this

figure as Prince Murad, Jahangir’s brother, who died of alcoholism. According to

Seyller, it was common practice to give a cameo to members of the royal family,

not for propaganda purposes but for nostalgic reasons.42 The figure standing next

to the prince wears a peculiar cap; he seems non-Indian and non-Mughal from his

39. Stronge, Painting for the Mughal Emperor, 109. Literally ‘half pen.’ Drawings

washed with faintest suggestion of color in an almost monochromatic palette, sometimes touched

with gold or with body color.

40. These borders figures are found in several of Akbar’s great manuscripts of the 1590s:

the Baharistan of Jami, in the Bodleain Library; Kahmsa of Nizam, in The British Library; or the

Diwan of Amir Khusrau Dehlavi, in The Baltimore Museum.

41. Beach, Grand Mogul, 46. The tradition of full color portrait painting appealed to the

artist working on Shah Jahan’s album.

42. Seyller, “Folios from Muraqqa’ Gulshan”

22

attire, and the cap was probably borrowed from Europeans or their images that

were transported to India.43

A few intriguing details surround the artistry of the border, as mentioned

by Marshall in 1977, and by Seyller in 2013.44 The signature of the artist, Salim

Quli, appears twice, once on the side of the woman (Figure 18a), and again near

the man on the outer margin (Figure 18b). The signatures are very small and

cleverly hidden. Previously, only calligraphers signed their names on the work,

but in late fifteenth century Iran, evidently a new interest developed in the

individual and throughout the early sixteenth century most artists signed their

work.45 This trend was transferred to the south Asian Mughal atelier.

Although it is not unusual by this time to see the artist’s signature, why

did Quli sign twice on this piece of work? While the signatures authenticate the

artist’s work and help to ascribe other paintings of similar style, they also bring

into question the authorship of the remaining figures. The other figures show a

different hand in painting. The style of the three figures at the bottom is finer and

the color palette softer. All the figures are in action and each one is involved in a

significant activity, but they display stiffness in their gestures. The depiction of

the figures is more Indianized than Persianate, as reflected in the Indian facial

features, clothing, and the rendering of voluminous bodies.

43. Stronge, Painting for the Mughal Emperor, 115. Good copies of Christian pictures

from India or Portugal would be presented to Jahangir, knowing that it would greatly please him.

44. File 48-12 1 and 2, South Asian Department, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.

45. Signatures of many principal painters in Jahangir’s studio, such as Aqa Riza,

Bishndas, Balchand, Daulat and Govardhan, are found in hashiya. However, the names of three of

Jahangir’s best painters, Abu’l Hasan, Manohar, and Mansur, have not been found and their non-

participation is unimaginable, but a large number of unsigned folios are painted in their individual

styles.

23

Persian elements and Sufism are two main themes within The Poet and the

Prince, infused with subtle influences from Renaissance humanism. The border

of the painting is particularly of interest with the later addition of the colorfully

painted birds. The calligraphy panel and border text are all authored by Persian

calligrapher Mir Ali, while the border of the calligraphy specimen strangely

contains two signatures by the same artist.

24

CHAPTER 3

VISUAL DESCRIPTION: A BUFFALO HUNTING A LIONESS

The verso of the folio, A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness (Figure 3), illustrates a

tense and dangerous moment where a lioness is being attacked by a buffalo. Its

horn has just pierced the lioness, who is about to be stomped on the ground. The

rider sits astride the buffalo, controlling the animal by flashing his axe. The

action of animal combat is emphasized by its diagonal placement on a vertical

format. The slanting lines of the water streams on the foreground and the leaping

action of the buffalo add dynamism. Overall, the composition is well-balanced

and carefully arranged with its elements and forms complementing the

surroundings.

The hunting scene is frequent subject matter used in the artistic vocabulary

of Mughal culture. The isolated and unaccompanied scene is set within a rocky

landscape without any audience, as opposed to the hunting scenes frequently

painted in Akbari tradition, which were idealized and exaggerated with an

expanded entourage accompanying the great hunter. The hero either kills his prey

or is engaged in a deadly encounter with the ferocious animal (Figure 19).

Usually this type of scene is depicted as an imperial hunting scene, in which the

emperor is slaying a tiger or the page boy is carrying his kill.

The handsome face and well-trimmed mustache of the ‘hunter’ leads

Seyller to conclude it is a portrait of Prince Salim.1 This conclusion is consistent

1. Seyller, NAMA Symposium, 2013.

25

with traditional hunting scene paintings, as one would expect the hunter to be

royalty. However, it is an unconvincing assumption to associate just a manicured

face to the emperor. I argue that the rider is inappropriately dressed to be a

prince. It is implausible to have a monarch sitting on a buffalo without any hint

of royalty in his attire. In fact, the man’s bare feet, the absence of fine material

clothing, and his headdress without a plume emphasize his humble social class.

Arguably, one could challenge whether this scene is even a hunting scene to begin

with, let alone whether the man on the buffalo is royalty. The absence of an

imperial entourage and of spectators or bystanders to the witness attack

contradicts the imperial hunting scene, as the audience is critical, as seen in

Figure 14. An imperial hunt requires an audience to witness the bravery, skill,

and courageousness of the royal hunter. Further, the hunter primarily rides a

horse, whereas buffalo are domesticated and mainly used for farming.

Style

There is consensus within the existing research that Farrukh Chela painted

A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness. The imperial artist Chela was not mentioned in Ain-

i-Akbari among the seventeen foremost artists of the period, but his individualized

and idiosyncratic style in figurative, architectural, and landscape painting is

immediately recognizable.2 His extremely personal mannerisms are expressed

2. Rekha Morris, “Some Additions to the Known Corpus of Paintings by the Mughal

Artist Farrukh Chela,” Ars Orientalis Vol. 13 (1982): 135, accessed May 21, 2014,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4629315.

26

through unorthodox and eccentric types of compositions. His attention to forms

with strong outlines, and his landscapes are often described as visionary. In this

painting, the landscape features luminous, even phosphorus-like water that

appears to sparkle.3 This style is another reason to assume it is authored by

Chela.

Rekha Morris, a prominent scholar of Indian art, divides Chela’s work into

three distinct phases. These include the early/formative, 1585-1595, the middle,

1595-1600, and the late, 1600-1605. Chela’s early works are simply narrative

scenes in mainstream Mughal style, as seen in Akbarnama and Timurnama. In

these early phase paintings, such as Controlling an Infuriated Elephant (Figure

20) c. 1590 we see glimpses of the stylistic traits he later developed. These

elements include the distorted perspective, flat background architecture with no

depth, strong and dark outlines, massive rock formations, and dynamic subject

placement.4

By the 1590s, his work was well defined and technically strong.5 Chela’s

middle phase paintings are characterized by middle ground architecture and the

use of strong outlines subdued with soft tonalities. The result is a unique

“synthesis of outline and volume, creating images of considerable evocative

force,” as exemplified in A Ruined Castle (Figure 21) c. 1595.6 Morris concludes

A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness contains all of the elements evident in Chela’s late

3. Seyller, NAMA Symposium, 2013.

4. Morris, “Paintings by the Mughal Artist Farrukh Chela”, 135-136.

5. Beach, The Imperial Image, 109.

6. Morris, “Paintings by the Mughal Artist Farrukh Chela”, 136.

27

early phase paintings.7 The examples of these early and middle phase paintings,

Controlling an Infuriated Elephant and A Ruined Castle, support this late early

phase dating, as the stylistic elements seen in A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness are

comparable with those in Controlling an Infuriated Elephant, and inconsistent

with those of A Ruined Castle.

Farrukh Chela has eight other paintings in the Gulshan album, among

which, A Chained Elephant c. 1590 (Figure 22) is most comparable in its style

and rendering with A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness.8 Beach argues the arrangement

and order of the images within the Gulshan album are thought out and carefully

placed next to each other to make a visual point. He claims that either the facing

paintings are the works of the same artist or the same theme by different artists.9

He proposes the two paintings, A Hunting Party by Mohammad Sharif c. 1590

(Figure 23) and Jamshed Writing on a Rock by Abd-us Samad c. 1585 (Figure 24)

would be facing each other in the Gulshan because they are done by different

artists, in this case father and son, but share similar themes (Figure 25).10

Keeping that argument in perspective, I propose that A Buffalo Hunting a

Lioness and A Chained Elephant c. 1590 were almost certainly placed next to

each other in the Gulshan album, as both the paintings are attributed to the same

artist and share similar styles (Figure 26). Additionally, the outer borders of both

7. Ibid., 139.

8. A Chained Elephant is currently held in the Former Imperial Library, Tehran.

9. Milo Beach, “Jahangir’s Album: Some Clarifications” in Arts of Mughal India: Studies

in Honor of Robert Skelton, ed. Rosemary Crill, Susan Stronge, Andrew Topsfield (V&A Mapin

Publishing 2004), 115.

10. Currently held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Freer Gallery of

Art, Washington D.C., respectively.

28

the paintings are similar. Further investigation on this argument can reveal more

facts and evidence.

The four surrounding strips of illumination amplify the central panel of the

painting. The vertical strip on the side of the image is decorated with detailed

symmetrical floral designs. This method of elaborating the beauty with stylized

motifs of flowers, leaves and tendrils, referred to as bale, is a Safavid style often

imitated by artists in the Mughal court.11 There are twelve jewel-like brilliantly

colored birds of different species, perched on sinuous stems. Paper bands are

added separately to enlarge the size, thus maintaining the uniformity of the image

within the album. The top and bottom borders of the image consist of medallions

and cartouches, typical elements used in Islamic art. Magnificently painted

enraged roosters are placed in the top cartouches, directly relating to the fighting

impulse of the central image, while the cartouches below have two pigeons within

a landscape background, surrounded by a cream color strip with gold floral

design.

Border Surrounding A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness (verso)

The outer border of A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness is subtly painted a

translucent gold over light green color paper (Figure 3). It is among the most

traditional borders of the album, filled with animals in action, foliage, and

11. Som P. Verma, Painting the Mughal Experience (New Delhi, India: Oxford

University Press, 2005), 105.

29

landscape; densely filled with a group of real and fantastic predators. There are

rabbits, deer, and antelopes being devoured by lions. On the lower left corner of

the border, a lion leaps onto a deer, and similar occurrences are illustrated twice

on the upper left corner and the outer border, relating to the theme of the central

image. This type of border decoration began in Persian paintings of the 1520s

and reached its maturity in Mughal manuscripts of the 1590s. Seyller suggests

this border painting shows the hands of artist Husayn, who has contributed to

independent paintings, illuminations, and border designs in various projects

during this period. Husayn has one ascribed border and one attributed pair of

birds in this album. Seyller attributes the handling of foliage with strong outlines

of animals to him.12

The faces of the lions on the upper right and the left corners of the border

are typical representations found within Persian paintings. Even more curious is

the deer, just below the lion, with vines budding out of its body and tail. It is

shown with an unconventional face that does not resemble a deer, but rather a

ferocious animal. A pair of chasing hare is on the top margin. Their ears are

more like long horns of deer and their bodies appear to be cat-like.

The animals on the upper half of the margin are fantastical compared to

the lower half, which are rendered more realistically and naturally. These

uncommon creatures add a slight humor to the action of the border. The

rendering of such strange creatures, sometimes obscure at first glance, is a

trademark Persian characteristic found in borders, originally adopted from

12. Seyller, “Folios from Muraqqa’ Gulshan”.

30

Chinese artistic vocabulary. The theme of the outer margin seems intentionally

paired with the central panel, but it could certainly be coincidental that the

traditional imagery of the border decoration corresponded with the main painting.

It is uncommon to see border themes relating to the central image, however, it is

not unusual to see a continuous narrative of the border visually connecting it as a

whole in Jahangir’s albums. The border themes were carefully composed by the

painters and much attention was paid to their execution, as the border was

regarded as a significant element within the album.

One of the most outstanding features of Jahangir’s album appears in the

form of the tiny colored birds scattered on the margin. Thematically, they are

unrelated to the action transpiring, but these birds create another layer of visual

meaning to the surface, creating depth. The birds are just there, and in this case,

twenty one different kinds are identifiable on the page.13 On the top right side of

the border sits a bird, realistically perched on a branch, its tail breaking into the

gold frame around the image. Just below that bird is another, half hidden behind

a leaf that overlaps it. It is curious that the birds that are flying with their wings

spread in flight are not executed as realistically as the birds that landed, which

shows that the artist had better observation of the sitting birds, perhaps using a

specimen of a dead bird.

Mansur rendered animals and birds with naturalism, and painted numerous

pictures of them. The accuracy of forms and the anatomical details achieved by

well-defined lines were defining characteristics of his paintings. Based on his

13. Ibid.

31

known works, I attribute the painting of these birds to Mansur. Mansur’s true to

life depiction of animals and flowers earned him a boastful title from the emperor

of Nadir ul Asr, “Unique of the Age.”14 So far, no ascription is found on the

borders, although it is possible the margin was done by two artists. The gold

background may have been done by one artist, and the birds done by another.15

Calligraphy (recto): A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness

The whole text panel is pasted directly on the wasli (Figure 3), whereas

traditionally fragments of text are cut out and pasted, burnished, and then

decorations are added around the burnished edges. On this panel, however, the

decorations are painted directly around the text on the same sheet of paper. The

size of the central panel has been enlarged through the addition of twelve smaller

cutouts around the main text panel. These smaller cutouts contain verses of

Persian poetry surrounded by decorations similar to those of the central panel.

These smaller cutouts themselves are separated by individually decorated bands

of paper.

On the reverse of A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness (Figure 4), is a specimen of

calligraphy signed by Persian calligrapher, Mir Ali. Sheila Blair, an eminent

Islamic scholar, translates the text, which is an excerpt from an Arabic love poem:

Alas, from love and circ*mstances

My heart is burning with fever

My eyes hasn’t looked at anything but you

14. Ibid.

15. Ibid.

32

I swear by God and his signs16

Borders Surrounding the Calligraphy (recto)

The central calligraphy is surrounded by Persian texts of love verses by

Sa’di. The border above the calligraphy is composed of two pairs of flying birds.

The outer most border design is a landscape setting with a hunting scene painted

in opaque gold and half pen.17 On the upper right corner, two men try to load a

slain tiger onto the crouching elephant. To their left, two mountain goats,

realistically painted, are observing something at a distance. They are partially

hidden in cloudy foliage. Another attendant holds the reign of the horse for the

young prince, astride with a falcon and examining his catch. The plume and fine

attire suggests his royalty. Another attendant brings the catch, and the cook is

involved in preparing the meal. The two hunters on foot precede a mounted

nobleman, who seems to be skillfully handling the cheetah.

The border’s ethereal quality is created by the effect of nim-qalam. The

human figures are separately placed throughout the surrounding margins, yet they

are not isolated from each other as seen in earlier margins produced in Akbar’s

atelier, as these figures interact with one another in this loosely narrated hunting

visual. The uneven color washes of bright red and blue under the clothing are not

accidental but intentional to enrich the overall rhythm of the border. The contrast

of defined shapes and without delineation maintains a regularity of interval. The

16. File 48-12 1 and 2, South Asian Department, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.

17. Stronge, Painting for the Mughal Emperor, 108.

33

color and effects of gold change as the page is moved under the light. The color

palette is a significant diagnostic feature attributing a painting to a particular

artist.

It was a common practice in Mughal border decoration for one painter to

execute the landscape and another to execute the figures. This border was

attributed to Aqa Riza by Suzanne Marshall.18 However, Blair and Seyller rule

out Aqa Riza as the border artist since the plump and round faces of the figures

are non-Persian. They attribute both the landscape and figures to the imperial

artist Madhu, to whom manuscript borders of the late 1590s are attributed.19 The

relationship of the content of the text to the subject of its border opens the

possibility of conjecture. The text refers to burning love, whereas the illustration

in the border shows a hunting scene with animals killed and dragged. If the

borders are painted in response to the text in the central panel, then the contrasting

elements suggest a metaphor. It is also possible that this border also relates to the

image painted on the reverse or the border on the facing page in the spread, now

unknown.

18. File 48-12 1 and 2, South Asian Department, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.

19. Seyller, NAMA Symposium, 2013.

34

CHAPTER 4

VISUAL AND TECHNICAL ANALYSES OF THE TWO FOLIOS

The Gulshan folios have been visually and technically analyzed in

collaboration with Kimberly Masteller, Elisabeth Bachelor, Kate Garland, Paul

Benson, and Joe Rogers.1 The folios were examined with non-destructive

techniques such as raking light, under microscope amplification and X-ray

fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). This is a preliminary investigation of the two

folios but future comprehensive examination can reveal further details. Overall

the folios are in excellent condition and are well-preserved. At first glance, the

jewel-like paintings seem a simple technique of opaque washes done with detail

and precision on hand-made paper, wasli. With a closer look such as this, one

finds intricacies involved in their production that contribute to further

understandings of authorship, timeframe, and physical structures of the paintings.

The Poet and the Prince (recto)

According to Marshall’s preliminary report in 1977 and Seyller’s

convincing argument, The Poet and the Prince was enlarged to its present size in

1. The XRF analysis was conducted on January 7th, 2015. Kimberly Masteller, Jeanne

McCray Beals Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art; Elisabeth Batchelor, Director of

Conservation and Collections Management (retired); Kate Garland, Senior Conservator, Objects;

Paul Benson, Conservator of Objects; Joe Rogers, Conservation Associate, Objects.

35

1610 by adding vertical paper strips along the sides.2 A horizontal line just below

the feet of old man (Figure 27) marks its enlargement. The paint difference is

visible with the naked eye, but the additional joint paper is not. Even under the

microscope there is no indication that paper was added to the four sides of the

painting. Gold is applied in the sky over the older parts, covering the transition,

or joint, and is over-painted with some birds in flight. The magnification was

useful in noticing two hands in the painting style of bushes painted in on the

lower right bottom, and in the center of the image. In addition, the XRF results

show different pigments in both greens used for the grass. The diversion in

painting style is also visually noticeable in the rocks painted on the base of the

image.

An even more compelling discovery that supports the argument for the

enlargement of the painting was shown by the color pigment used in the stream.

With XRF it was discovered that the water (turned grey from silver oxidation)

painted in the center of the image has 64 percent gold, 3 percent silver and 3

percent lead in its pigments. Whereas, the extended area on the left (Figure 28)

from where the stream originates oddly lacks silver and platinum, but contains a

very low concentration of copper. Furthermore, the lower portion where the

stream ends has no silver, platinum, or lead. There is a clear line (Figure 27) that

shows a division verifying a later addition to the painting.

2. File 48-12 1 and 2, South Asian Department, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.

Seyller, NAMA Symposium, 2013.

36

The grainy, dark blue powder spread over the sky and the three trees

clustered together in the background (Figure 29) suggest the use of lapis-lazuli.

Under microscopic magnification, however, the XRF showed no signs of calcium

that indicates the composition of lapis-lazuli. Calcium, a little bit of copper,

which suggests the blue is azurite, and lead mixed in pigments with an overlap of

applied gold were found on the sky. Similarly, the yellow cloak of the sufi

fluoresces a vivid yellow under the UV rays, which suggests the presence of

Indian yellow, which was made with the urine of the cow that was fed mango

leaves. The Indian yellow was sometimes used alone and in mixtures to make

flesh tones. It was also mixed with indigo to make green.3 However, the result

showed no cow urine. There was Sulphur, no magnesium, and the yellow glowed

because of lead pigment in the paint. The orange shirt that the young prince is

wearing shows copper, iron, gold, and lead for the red tone but no arsenic.

Similarly, the pink color of attendant’s shirt contains no gold, but traces of iron

and lead create the red tone.

The central painting is surrounded by the thin ruled lines of black, gold

and orange, followed by 1 cm pale pink-gray strip painted in gold floral scroll, cut

in full rectangular shape with no seams. It is thinly outlined again with the same

colors surrounded by a thick band of gold pigment, then thin black and blue ruled

lines on mounting (Figure 30).

3. Vincent Daniels, “A Preliminary Scientific Investigation of Princes of the House of

Timur” in Princes of the House of Timur, ed. Shiela Canby (Bombay, India: Marg Publication,

1994), 102.

37

Multiple layers of paper are used for the preparation of the wasli

composition.4 The laminated, tea stained border is in good condition except for

the brown stain on the lower left corner (Figure 31) where the color is faded and

retouched with paint. The painter had tried to continue the same design by

copying it, but the loose brush work suggests that the painter was not from

Jahangir’s studio, instead he was probably from a later, perhaps even modern,

workshop.

The birds were painted on top of the gold embellished border and their

quality and the fresh colors are in good condition, except for the pair of birds at

the lower left edge, which have extensive losses in pigmentation. Few small, less

noticeable, brown patches are visible throughout the page as it was stained by

water and shows some darkening in the upper left corner. The corners show the

most damage. A small hole goes through the obverse (reverse) and a small tear

runs along the edge, and another crack runs straight along the upper right corner

to the edge of the painting. The vertical edge on the right side shows traces of

paper, which was used to glue the leaf to its binding.

Calligraphy (verso) The Poet and the Prince

Under enlargement, the reverse page shows the calligraphy of the central

panel is cut out, which is applied on a sheet of paper and burnished to prepare a

smooth surface for decoration. The writing is in black ink on paper, which has

4. Kim Masteller reported that 40 pieces of paper were used in a Persian album page at

Harvard.

38

turned yellow with age. The text is old and faded as compared to the fresh and

bright colors used in the surrounding patterns. Traces of gold leaf are found in

various places as if spattered or dropped on paper. The space around the cloud

shaped text is intricately designed with floral scroll patterns, painted with gold

and watercolor with a single hair brush. The blue in lower corner triangle shows

calcium in XRF results, which indicates a good possibility of lapis-lazuli. Two

rectangular strips with geometric and floral designs painted with watercolor, gold

leaf, and lapis are pasted on top and bottom and thinly outlined with gold, orange,

and green paint. The flaked grey painted strip edging the calligraphy is gold

painted with no silver in it, probably the improper ratio of binder to pigment has

turned it grey. The thin blue ruled line surrounding the whole central panel is

painted directly on the mounting.

The laminated border is meticulously painted. Trees, plants, and figures

are rendered with gold and washes of light colors distributed all around the

margin, creating a soft nuance around the text panel. The signature of the artist

Salim Quli is visible twice under magnification (Figure 18). Above the head of

the woman, in the middle of right side of the margin, there is a small crease with

staining around it and a brown stain in front of her skirt. However, the overall

condition is good. The hole described on the obverse is visible on this side on the

lower left corner, right in front of the man digging (Figure 32). The page also

shows paper loss, cracks, and abrasions. Another cracked line described on the

obverse is visible on top left corner and a small wormhole on the top. There is

39

slight staining all around the corners and edges and some gold is lost on the lower

right edge.

A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness (verso)

A striking fact under magnification in the painting of the second folio, A

Buffalo Hunting a Lioness, is that the smooth textures of the buffalo and lioness

skin are not washes of colors, as they may seem, but are created by individual

brush-strokes. The painting is in excellent condition, surrounded by thin blue and

gold lines and two vertical panels (14.8 x 1.5 cm) symmetrically painted floral

scrolls and birds with gold and bright watercolor. The top and bottom panels (4 x

11.7 cm) are pasted and painted with watercolor, gold, and lapis-lazuli. The

patterned strips have two cartouches each, on which the birds were added later

and probably were not part of the design. The feathers of the bird on the top left

of the cartouche (Figure 33), overlap the edges of the cartouche. The under

drawing is revealed, making it quite possible that the patterned strip was reused

and the birds were painted on it later. The lower patterned strip shows paint

flaked from the left corner near the pigeon exposing the gold underneath, which

suggests the gold base was painted and burnished to make the surface smooth for

a fine finish. Further magnification reveals that the sides of the flaked area were

re-touched with gold paint by another workshop or one of Jahangir’s painters. A

thin blue and gold line is outlined around the central panel and it is surrounded by

another 1 cm strip painted with gold floral scroll.

40

The floral patterned strip surrounding the central panel shows two strips

attached together on the lower right corner (Figure 34). The pattern is continuous

on the attachment. The pattern was painted with gum and gold powder splattered

on it, as revealed on a strip where the gold is rubbed off and the gum exposed.5

Thin ruled lines of green, gold, and orange ink surround it, followed by a wider,

gold border-line, which is then outlined by a thin, ruled, blue ink line drawn

directly on the mounting.

The addition of full colored birds in watercolor throughout the border

seems to be done by Jahangir’s painter on an archaic, or previously painted,

border. An interesting attempt by the artist to make the presence of birds even

more realistic is the overlap of foliage on one bird perched on a stem (Figure 35).

Another bird, resting on the stem on the upper right edge of the central panel, has

its tail breaking the gold strip of the border (Figure 36). Some mistakes on the

birds are corrected with gold painted on the edges over the leaked paint. Dark

stains along the vertical edge of the lower right side have been retouched with

gold. All four sides of the border are slightly rubbed and stained.

Calligraphy (recto) A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness

The whole sheet of calligraphy (15.2 x 7.3 cm) is pasted directly on the

panel. It is embellished with gold leaf around the writing, probably with gum-

arabic, and decorated with floral designs and birds painted on top with watercolor.

5. Marcella Sirhandi stated that Bashir Ahmed told her about this method that was used

by the Mughals, November 2014.

41

The designs on the two triangles on the upper right and lower left corners have

more lapis-lazuli in them. It is surrounded by ruled lines in black and gold and a

.45 cm cream color strip painted with floral scroll in gold is pasted around the

edge. Cut edges of the strip are visible at all corners, surrounded by more ruled

lines in gold and black.

The twelve rectangular panels of calligraphy are cut out from another folio

and burnished individually. There are three strips on each of the four sides

surrounding the central panel, forming a 2.4 cm thick strip beyond the ruled lines.

Each bit of writing is cut and glued individually in place. There are two strips of

writing per rectangle. A cut between two separate sheets is detectable under the

microscope, it is decorated with mineral pigments. The lower left corner strip is

painted with blue lapis-lazuli and applied gold leaf. Each rectangular text panel is

separated by decorative bands painted with lapis-lazuli, gold, and watercolor, and

again thinly outlined with black and gold. At the top, two panels of paper are

painted with a gold floral design with two birds on each panels. It seems that the

birds are also cut out from another page and pasted on top of the calligraphic

panel. Although the size of all four birds are the same, the background pattern is

different and a separating line of sheet is visible in the center (Figure 37).

The blue bird on the upper right panel shows very little lead in its pigment

from the XRF result. There are small amounts of copper, gold, and calcium and

the blue is acquired from copper sulfate, suggesting azurite. There is slight

staining creating light brown spots on the far right side of the blue bird under the

wing, and on the breasts of the other two birds on the left end. Few spots are

42

visible throughout the two panels from either ink or water. The thin black and

gold lines are followed by a .85 cm strip of border, painted in gold floral scroll on

green paper, cut and glued in place and ruled by black and orange thin lines. A

gold border surrounds the lines followed again by blue, thin, ruled lines directly

on the mounting.

The laminated board of the mounting is light beige in color, and painted

landscapes, human figures, and hunting scenes with horses and birds fill the

border throughout. The horse in the lower right corner shows presence of a little

copper, iron, and gold, but no silver, platinum, or lead is detected. A curious

discovery on the border is found under magnification. The rifle in the hand of the

hunter with a kill (Figure 38) shows that the red tip of the barrel overlaps the

border line, which suggests the border painting is done later. It is painted with

washes of color, giving a subtle effect without over powering the central panel of

writing.

The most peculiar finding on this page is a nearly transparent mark, like a

water mark of gold brush strokes, on top of the central calligraphy. It is not

visible with the naked eye, but through the raking light, the gold impression is

illuminated. At first glance, it seemed like damage but upon further examination,

the mark appears intentional. This raises questions for further investigation as to

what these golden strokes mean, if they were painted intentionally, and when it

was marked. If they were not apparent without the sharp light, then how did

Mughals enjoy this distinct feature? In addition, if it was intentional, then other

folios of this album should be examined to see if they appear in other places.

43

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION

Through detailed descriptive and technical analyses of The Poet and the

Prince recto/verso (Figures 1 and 2) and A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness verso/recto

(Figures 3 and 4), this thesis adds to the existing research on the Gulshan

Muraqqa’. Focusing on style, subject matter, and iconography, descriptive

analyses of the folios illuminate the artistic and cultural context in which the

Gulshan album was created. Also considered is the attribution of work within the

folios to potential artists. The Mughal style of art developed as a synthesis of

Persian traditions, transferred to India with the arrival of Babur from Central Asia,

and the existing painting style of India. Further, the recurrence of sufi subject

matter in Mughal paintings echoes Persian and Islamic convention. Later,

elements of European realism become influential within the Mughal style.

The analysis agreed with the observations of Marshall and her attribution

of The Poet and the Prince to the imperial painter of the Akbari period, La’l, as

evidenced by the similarity of the rendering of trees and rock formations with

other known paintings by La’l. My further observation suggests that the face of

the old man may be painted by a different artist, Manohar, since he was

recognized for painting convincing portraits, and it may be intended to depict

Sa’di.

44

According to Morris’s division of Chela’s work into three phases, A

Buffalo Hunting a Lioness is dated within the late early phase of his artistic

career. Based on Beach’s ideas about the pairing of two images together in the

album, I propose that The Chained Elephant, by Farrukh Chela, faced A Buffalo

Hunting a Lioness in the album. The painting style, the angular placement of the

subject, and the modulation of color are similar both paintings. Additionally, the

visual unity of the borders evidently supports that their placement was not

random.

The often overlooked element of the album border is also briefly

investigated. Border enhancement, and particularly the addition of realistic birds

and figures, were Jahangir’s vital contributions. This research has traced the

evolution of Mughal border design throughout the reigns of Akbar and Jahangir,

with the later Jahangir period borders characterized by their expansive narrative

themes. Further investigation focusing on the Gulshan borders and their

development can reveal valuable information on this subject. In addition to the

borders, the meaning of the texts pieces and their placement within the album are

relatively unexplored elements of the Gulshan Muraqqa’. The sufi underpinning

of the text and its relationship to the pictorial imagery is briefly examined here,

but more research is needed.

The technical analyses revealed many things about the creation of the

folios and the material used. The yellow color which seems Indian yellow in

brightness and intensity is not always made with cow urine in imperial Mughal

paintings. Similarly, the vibrant blue is not always a result of using lapis lazuli,

45

and reveals that azurite was commonly used in paintings, while lapis is used in

illuminations. In addition to the colors, the steps in the construction of borders in

these folios is revealed. Colored strips are pasted first around the central panel,

which is sometimes enlarged, as found in the analysis of The Poet and the Prince,

and decorated with floral motifs painted in gold. Sometimes old strips, perhaps

from previous manuscripts, are pasted and touched with paint or partially painted

over, adding new elements to the previous design.

Further research on these two folios and others within the Gulshan album

can lead to more accurate understandings of the materials, techniques, and

craftsmanship employed by Mughal artists. The Gulshan muraqqa’ not only

provides a glimpse into the genius of Mughal emperor Jahangir, but also a

fascinating record for understanding the artistic and aesthetic culture during his

reign. However, the value of such an interesting album remains problematic if its

history and genesis remain in obscurity. It is hoped that this thesis will contribute

to the growing body of knowledge about the Gulshan album, helping scholars and

audiences to recreate and interpret “one of the world’s most beautiful books.”

46

ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure 1: Page from the Muraqqa Gulshan. The Poet and the Prince,

(recto) 1595-97, attributed to La’l. 22.3 x 11.5 cm.

Opaque watercolor on paper. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

47

Figure 2: Page from Gulshan Album. Calligraphy (verso) 1595-

1597. Opaque, watercolor, ink, and gold on paper. Mughal India.

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Missouri.

48

Figure 3: Page from the Muraqqa Gulshan. A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness,

(verso) 1595-97, attributed to Farrukh Chela. 22.3 x 11.5 cm.

Opaque watercolor on paper. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

49

Figure 4: Page from Gulshan Album. Calligraphy (recto) 1595-

1597. Opaque, watercolor, ink, and gold on paper. Mughal India.

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Missouri.

50

Figure 5: Jahangir Enthroned on an Hourglass, Bichitr, c. 1625. Opaque

watercolor on paper, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington.

51

Figure 6: Akbar presiding over a Religious Debate in the House

of Worship (ibadatkhana) with the Jesuit Fathers Ridolfo

Acquaviva and Francis Henriquez in the City of Fathpur Sikri in

1578, c.1578. Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper. Chester

Beatty Library, Dublin, CBL In.03.263.

52

Figure 7: Darbar of Jahangir, Abul Hassan, c. 1615, Mughal India, Opaque

watercolor on paper, Heeramaneck, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington DC.

53

Figure 8: Krishna is pampered by his ladies, folio from a Bhagavata Purana manuscript,

1520–40, North India (Delhi-Agra region),

Opaque watercolor and ink on paper, 6 7/8 x 9 3/16 in. (17.4 x 23.3 cm).

54

Figure 9: Folio 742b from the Shah Tahmasp Shahnama, attributed to Abd as-

Samad, Iran, Safavid dynasty, c. 1535, painting 28.4 x 27.3 cm, folio 47 x 31 cm.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Arthur A. Houghton, Jr.,

1970 (70.301.75)

55

Figure 10: Assad Ibn Kariba Launches a Night Attack on the Camp of Malik Iraj,

Folio from a Hamzanama (The Adventures of Hamza), Attributed to Basavana,

Shravana, and Tara (Indian, active mid-16th century), c. 1564–69, Mughal India,

Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on cloth; mounted on paper, H. 27 in. W. 21 1/4

in., Rogers Fund, 1918, 18.44.1

56

Figure 11: Akbar's Adventure with the Elephant Hawai, Folio

from Akbarnama, Composition by Basawan, c. 1590-95, Ink,

opaque, watercolor, and gold on paper, 37.5 x 23.8 cm, Victoria

and Albert Museum, London.

57

Figure 12: Dying Inayat Khan, Indian Mughal, circa 1618-19, attributed to

Balchand, 10.5 x 13.3 cm. Ink and light wash on paper, accession number

12.14.679

58

Figure 13: The dervish and the king. By Lal, 1595, Mughal. Illustration to

the Baharistan of Jami. 20.3 x 13 cm, page 30 x 19.5 cm. Ms Elliot 254, f.

59

Figure 14: Akbar hunting in a qamargha, or the humiliation of Hamid Bhakari:

page form an Akbarnama manuscript. Mughal court probably at Lahore, dated by

association 1597. Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper; painting: 21.4 x

12.7 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

60

Figure 15: Detail of Figure 1 (left) and Figure 13 (right)

61

Figure 16: A man hanged, Akbarnama, attributed to Miskin c. 1604,

Mughal. 34 x 22.5 cm. Lent by the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.

62

Figure 17: A Youth with Wine Flask and Cup, circa 1600-1604, The Salim

Album, Los Angeles County Museum of Art. From the Nasli and Alice

Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase, M.81.8.12 (App. 1.26)

63

Figure 18: Detail of border from page of

Gulshan Album. Late 16th century

Mughal India. Nelson Atkins Museum

of Art, Missouri.

18b

18a

64

Figure 19: Akbar stages a shikar near Lahore in 1567, c. 1590-95,

32.1 x 18.6 cm. Akbarnama, composed by Miskina. Painted by

Mansur, Victoria and Albert Museum.

65

Figure 20: Controlling an Infuriated Elephant ca. 1590, Mughal India, opaque

watercolor and ink on paper, Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad, India.

66

Figure 21: A Ruined Castle by Farrukh Chela, from lost

manuscript based on Anwar-I Suhayli or the Iyar-I Danish,

Mughal period, late 16th century, opaque watercolor and gold on

paper, image 19.8 x 12.1 cm, page 33.4 x 20.8 cm, Lucy Maud

Buckingham Memorial Collection, 1919.951

67

Figure 22: A Chained Elephant, Farrukh Chela. A page from the Gulshan

Album, Mughal India. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper.

68

Figure 23: A Hunting Party by Muhammad Sharif (possibly

worming with 'Abd as-Samad) Mughal India, c. 1590. From the

Jahangir Album. Opaque watercolor on paper. 42.23 x 26.67

cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

69

Figure 24: Jamshid Writing on a Rock by 'Abd as-Samad (with

extensions attributed here to Abu'l Hassan). From Jahangir

Album. Mughal India, dated 1588. Opaque watercolor on

paper. 42.0 x 26.5 cm. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian

Institution, Washington DC.

70

Figure 25: A Hunting Party and Jamshid Writing on a Rock

71

Figure 26: A Chained Elephant and A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness

72

Figure 27: Detail - The Poet and the Prince

Figure 28: Detail - The Poet and the Prince

73

Figure 30: Detail - The Poet and the Prince

Figure 29: Detail - The Poet and the Prince

74

Figure 31: Border of The Poet and the Prince

Figure 32: Reverse of The Poet and the Prince, border

detail, calligraphy verso

75

Figure 33: Detail, central panel band, A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness

Figure 34: Detail, A Buffalo

Hunting a Lioness

Figure 35: Detail, A Buffalo Hunting a

Lioness

76

Figure 37: Detail, A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness (recto)

Figure 38: Detail, A Buffalo Hunting

a Lioness (recto)

Figure 36: Detail, A Buffalo Hunting a Lioness

77

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Begum, Gulbadan. The History of Humayun. Translated by Annette S. Beveridge.

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Fazl, Abu’l. Akbarnama. Translated by H. Beveridge. vol. 1, Delhi: Ess

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Salim, Nurudin M. The Jahangirnama: Memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India.

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Beach, Milo C. The Grand Mogul: Imperial Painting in India. Williamstown,

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Beach, Milo C. “The Gulshan Album and its European Sources.” Bulletin of the

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Beach, Milo C. Mughal and Rajput Painting. Cambridge: Cambridge University

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Press, 1992.

Beach, Milo C. and Ebba Koch. King of the World. London: Azimuth Editions

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VITA

Hamama Tul Bushra was born on January 29th, 1967, in Lahore, Pakistan

where she grew up and received her education. She went on to the National

College of Arts to earn her bachelor in Design in 1988. She moved to the United

States of America in 1997 after marriage and continued as a homemaker while

raising her two girls. Returning back to education, she started her Master’s

program in 2012 at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. During her studies,

she did an internship at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, where she had the

opportunity to contribute to an Islamic exhibition, Echoes, in 2013. This exposure

to Islamic Art led to a deeper interest in the Mughal Art of India, which resulted

in the selection of the two pages from the Gulshan album for her thesis research.

Hamama took a photography course at the University of California, Los

Angeles in 1999, and computer graphic courses at Johnson County Community

College in 2005, while doing freelance design. Before migrating to the US, she

worked as a graphic designer in a renowned advertising agency, taught art at a

reputed college and worked as a color consultant for a multinational company in

Lahore.

Hamama is currently continuing her internship at the museum and hopes

to continue her education and expand her field of knowledge through doctoral

research. She plans to compile her research in a form of a published book on the

Mughal paintings of the Gulshan album.