Album leaf; recto: The Elephant Atash Khan; verso: calligraphic panel

Object Details

• Artist

  Attributed to Farrukh Beg (active early 1580s–1619)

• Court

  Bijapur Court

• School/Tradition

  Deccani school

• Description

  Verso: a calligraphic panel along the right side contains a Persian inscription with the information "written in Farahabad, capital of the realm of the Sultan," Farahabad was the summer residence of Shah Abbas of Iran. The panel along the left side reads "by the order of the descendant of the prophet Mirza Muhammad Shafi." The six lines of calligraphy in the central panel contain Persian poetry, with additiional couplets spaced along the margins.

• Inscriptions

  1. (Info. obtained from seller's invoice) Verso signed by Riza 'Ali and written in Farrukhabad, "capital of the realm of the sultan."

• Provenance

  Michel Onou (died 1901), Istanbul and Athens [1]

  To 1997

  Terence McInerney Fine Arts Ltd., New York City, to 1997

  From 1997

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Terence McInerney Fine Arts Ltd. in 1997

  Notes:

  [1] According to Curatorial Note 3, Vidya Dehejia, July 1997, in the object record.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Body Image (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Beyond the Legacy--Anniversary Acquisitions of the Freer Gallery of Art (October 11, 1998 to April 11, 1999)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Michel Onou (1835-1901)

  Terence McInerney Fine Arts, Ltd. (active 1990-2013)

• Origin

  Bijapur, Karnataka state, Deccan plateau, India

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Album

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1590s, 1600s

• Name

  McInerney, Terence, Onou, Michel

• Place

  Bijapur, Deccan plateau, Karnataka state, India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Animals, Adil Shahi dynasty (1489 - 1686), Poetry, Elephants

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Albums