A chukar partridge

Detached folio from a dispersed manuscript; text panels in Persian black nasta’liq script; A chukar partridge.
Border: The painting is set in red and blue rulings surrounded by a brown color inner frame and a purple outer frame mounted on paperboard with knotwork motifs.

Historical period(s)
Mughal dynasty, late 16th century
Movement
Mughal Court
School
Mughal School
Medium
Opaque watercolor and ink on cloth
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 29.3 x 19.9 cm (11 9/16 x 7 13/16 in) H x W (image): 17 x 10.2 cm (6 11/16 x 4 in)
Geography
India
Credit Line
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1986.413
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Detached manuscript folio with painting

Keywords
flower, Henri Vever collection, India, Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), quail, WWII-era provenance
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Detached folio from a dispersed manuscript; text panels in Persian black nasta'liq script; A chukar partridge.
Border: The painting is set in red and blue rulings surrounded by a brown color inner frame and a purple outer frame mounted on paperboard with knotwork motifs.

Inscription(s)

On the top and bottom text panels, the partridge walked in a cheerful gait/ proud and self-satisfied it came forth/ red beaked and robed in black/ causing blood to boil from its sight.

Label

The chukar partridge appears continually in paintings from both Iran and India, being especially prominent during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The appearance of seemingly individualized animal studies such as this has long been taken as evidence of Mughal interest in the immediate observation of nature. In fact, such illustrations were frequently derived from specific motifs in earlier paintings.

Published References
  • Ivan Stchoukine. Les miniatures indiennes de l'époque des grands moghols au Musée du Louvre. Études d'Art et d'Archeologie Paris. pl. XXVIb.
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Susan Nemanzee. A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. p. 55, p. 24.
  • Akbar: The Great Emperor of India. Exh. cat. Italy. p. 121, fig. 11.9.
  • L'Age d'or des sciences arabes: Exposition présentée a l'Institut du monde arabe, Paris, 25 octobre 2005-19 mars 2006. Exh. cat. Arles and Paris. cat. 121, p. 197.
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Milo Cleveland Beach, Elisabeth West FitzHugh, Susan Nemanzee, Janet Snyder. An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. cat. 405, pp. 334-335.
Collection Area(s)
South Asian and Himalayan Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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