Indo Persian 19th Century Indian Mughal Scene Miniature Painting

This 19th-century Indian miniature painting is composed in the Mughal style and depicts a meeting of the Hindu god Krishna and his shakti Radha, also known as the Supreme Goddess. To...

A Mughal painting of a ‘Lion at rest’ North India, early 19th century ? Watercolour on paper, H. 46.5 x W. 68 cm ?The present painting is a large...

An antique Indian painting from the 19th century depicting Guanyin the Bodhisattva of Compassion sitting on a dragon. Created in India during the 19th century, this large painting features Guanyin the Bodhisattva of Compassion, sitting on the head of a dragon, fluffy clouds adorning the painting's lower section. Her right foot on a lotus flower, Guanyin wears an ornate headdress and elegant clothes. The painting itself measures 30.5"W x 53.5" H and has been set inside a custom frame. Its peaceful subject will make this 19th century Indian painting...

This exquisite Indian miniature painting is a 19th-century reproduction of the Chamba School painting "Portrait of Rāj Singh of Chamba," dated circa 1785. Beautifully honoring the or...

Exquisite 19th-century oil miniature depicting a traditional Indian subject, finely executed with remarkable attention to detail. The painting captures the elegance and craftsmanshi...

Bamboo in moonlight Gamo Rakan (1784-1866) Hanging scroll, ink on silk. Dimensions: Scroll: 201 cm x 58 cm Image: 137 cm x 45 cm In this early 19th century work by Gamo Rakan a light ink wash applied to the silk background silhouettes the moon and suggests the atmosphere of early evening. Even though it is a literati subject, Rakan’s bamboo is quite realistic with a strong decorative style. The painting finds its inspiration from Chinese Ming dynasty painters who often used a single-tone, jet black stroke to emphasize the calligraphic nature of bamboo. In a different era, decorative would have been seen as somewhat unrefined. But increasingly in the Edo period, it was the hallmark of high style. The Japanese people, in particular the rising merchant class, had gradually become apathetic toward the traditional Sesshu and Kano schools of painting. Chinese professional and amateur painters living in the port of Nagasaki during the 18th century had a profound effect on Japanese painting and the freshness of their style and its decorative appeal contributed greatly to its popularity. Gamo Rakan’s teacher, Tani Buncho...

This Mughal miniature was painted at one of the princely courts of India. It depicts a raven-haired princess in a gold-trimmed saffron-colored silk sari. Under a glowering evening sky she dawdles on a white marble terrace, with a pet fawn on a leash, before a landscape dotted with buildings nestled amongst trees beyond a river. Her hair, falling loosely about her shoulders, rather than carefully dressed on her head, indicates that she is a maiden. The overall mood is one of expectancy. Perhaps walking a pet and catching an evening breeze is a pretext to escape palace scrutiny for a lovers’ assignation. In Mughal India tender sentiments were a bridge to the erotic – and if this seems contradictory, so too is the balance of realism and caricature, and naturalism with the schematic. Both are hallmarks of miniatures painted in this place and time. The earliest Mughal Indian miniatures date to the 16th century. They were inspired by those painted at the refined Moslem courts of the neighboring Persian empire. They incorporated figures in spite of the Moslem faith’s proscription against depicting the human form. Such was the nature of sophisticated courtly life everywhere that beauty and pleasure trumped systems of morality. This was no less the case at the provincial Indian courts, where our miniature, marked by a charming pictorial naiveté, was most likely painted. Yet the artist was undeniably accomplished. His command of perspective, introduced by Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century, is seen in the landscape, which rolls back to a distant horizon, contrary to the flat two-dimensional ones following Indian-painting traditions. And if Mughal artists were influenced by Western art, the compliment was returned by Rembrandt and Sir Joshua Reynolds, among others, who collected Indian miniatures (as did, perhaps, Giovanni Bellini who painted in Mughal style the famous miniature of a Persian man...

Indian, 18th or early 19th century. This exquisite 18th-century Mughal School miniature painting is a masterful example of the rich artistic tradition that flourished under the Mugh...

Birds & flowers of the seasons Pheasants & plum in snow Unframed painting. Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Kano Chikanobu 1819-1888 Signature...

Chinese Pheasants Yoshizawa Setsuan (1809-1889) Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk. Painting inscription: Setsuan Houyou Upper seal: Y...