Vulture from an imperial album

Object Details

• Artist

  Muhammad

• Court

  Mughal Court

• School/Tradition

  Mughal school

• Label

  Seated upon a jagged rock, this long-billed vulture looks menacing as it fixes its beady eye on some distant target. It is a fine example of the bird studies favored by the Mughal rulers, and is a copy of a painting made by the seventeenth-century painter Mansur, who was a master of bird and animal studies. The verses around the picture compose a royal eulogy that could be applied to any king.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Arts of the Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas (October 16, 2004 to January 3, 2016)

  At the Margins (June 4 to November 30, 1997)

  The Natural World in Indian Painting (September 4, 1996 to May 17, 1997)

  South and South East Asian Art (May 9, 1993 to February 7, 2000)

  The Imperial Image: Painting for the Mughal Court (September 25, 1981 to 30 March 1982)

  Indian Art (January 1, 1963 to January 28, 1981)

• Origin

  India

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1800s, 1890s

• Name

  Muhammad

• Place

  India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Reign of Jahangir (1605 - 1627), Vulture, Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), Flowers

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Language

  Nasta?li-q script

• Object Type

  Paintings