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Elephants
Rhinoceroses, and Camels
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Elephants Rhinoceroses,
and Camels
Elephants
One point that became apparent in a survey of
elephants in Islamic and related art is that the
elephants associated with the Indian sub-continent
are most usually portrayed as having banded tusks and
or shortened tusks. The incidences of full and
unbanded tusked elephants seemed most common with the
Mughal artist Miskin until much later Hindu artists.
Another point is that with elephants attributed to
the reign of the Padshah Jahangir domed craniums are
more prevalent. Conventional cranium elephants are
more often seen in the Akbar era or much later,
however the much later elephants are not usually seen
grouped with Persianate fantastic animals.
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Detail - from
the rug
Please note the similarities in the hook, the
bells under the neck, the harness, the position
of the rider, the saddle blanket, and the
position of the left front leg. Also please note
the proportion of the rider to the elephant as
compared to the fourth elephant the non-Miskin
one.
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Detail -
"Siege of Ranthambhor" 1.
Composition by Miskin, circa 1590. Victoria
and Albert Museum , London.
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Detail - "Prince Selim Hunting A
Lion" 2.
India, Mughal. Unidentified artist but at least in the
style of Miskin. Selim is of course Jahangir prior to
succeeding his father. The similarity in this elephant is
so striking that I suspect we are looking at three
pictures of the same elephant. Generally, in Mughal art
when this happens we find that it is something of some
significance at the time it was drawn.
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Detail - from "The Surrender Of
Qandahar" from the Padshahnama circa 1640.3.
I include this elephant for contrast. Note the
massive size of the elephant as compared to the
rider. This massive elephant is the style that
became fashionable under Jahangir and stayed that
way into the reign of Shah Jahan. While not as
extreme as some this elephant exhibits the
greater cranial dome trait of later Mughal
Elephants.
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Lahore India, circa 1630 (+ or - 15 years).
Previously in the Sarre Collection now in the
collection of the Textile Museum Washington, DC.
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A battle scene with combatants mounted on
elephants and horses, in the background a
fortress on fire with further troops fighting on
foot: illustration from a manuscript of the
Akbarnama, Mughal, c.1595 - 1600 gouache with
gold on paper, laid down on an album page with
margins ruled in blue and gold.
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Rhinoceroses
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Isfandiyar
Hunting Lions" By Miskin, From The
Shahnama of Firdausi. Northern India, 1580 -
1585. Folio 261b, Lot 112, Sotheby's, London,
October 19, 1994. 4.
Stylistically this is a very early example of
Miskin's work. In many ways it lacks the
refinement of his later work, but it was viewed
favorably by the court and Miskin emerged as a
major artist due in part to the work he did on
this Shahnama. It is suggested by Sotheby's that
this was done concurrently with the Darabnama or
shortly afterwards. I would suspect concurrently
and suggest a date of around 1582, is more
probable judging by the lack of refinement. The
rocks are very well drawn, as is the tree, but
the animals lack the realism that we see from
Miskin from just a few year later. Miskin's
Isfandiyar on horseback is copied from the
portrayal of Gushtasp we see in the same
manuscript by Kesu the Younger (Gushtasp Slays
The Dragon, Folio 242a). Kesu's rendering of
horse and trappings are clearly superior to
Miskin's. At this point Kesu the Younger was the
senior artist, but a few years Miskin eclipsed
Kesu to be one the most important Mughal artists.
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Detail - Isfandiyar Hunting Lions"
By Miskin,
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Detail from the The
Widener Mughal Animal Carpet. Compare the
ears, the head, the neck, and the hooves. It is
worth noting that rhinoceroses are extremely rare
in Mughal art and Miskin is one of very few
artists who portrays them.
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Girift-u Gir - Animals In Combat
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Detail - from the rug
There is nothing special I want you to note
except, that is is not really that big a deal to
include a fairly common design in an animal
carpet.5. I am including
this because others who have written on this
carpet seem to feel it is significant.
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circa 1400 to 1450. Berlin Staatbibliothek
Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Orientableilung Diez
Album f 73.3.67 #6.
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Fighting Camels in the style of
Mohammadi
Mid-Sixteenth century, Mashad or Herat. In 1962 Ernest
J. Grube 7. suggested that this
bore a relationship to the style Muhammadi. I have not
found a newer attribution, so I will let that stand. Let
us then say mid sixteenth century. Therefore Mashad or
Herat would be in order. (The groom reminds me of a
portrait of Husayn-i-Bukara, but I can not document a
relationship the feather in the turban is often a sign of
nobility.) Please note the extravagant camel trappings
particularly the Elephant.
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Abd as-Samad or
Abdul Samad as some would call him was Miskin's
colleague, teacher, and contemporary.
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There are several more renditions of fighting camel
including an early (but not the first) one by Bihzad 9. and a later one by a contemporary of
Miskin's named Nanha.
If we wish to expand the search to realistically drawn
paired animals fighting we would have to include
"Buffaloes in Combat" which is attributed to
Miskin.
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Animals in combat are a concept certainly not
unknown to Miskin.
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1. Okada, Amina. Indian Miniatures of
the Mughal Court. Translated by Deke Dusinberre, (New
York: Harry N. Abrahms, Inc. Publishers, 1992), p. 129
Plate 142 .
2. Soudavar, Abolala. Art of the
Persian Court. (New York: Rizzoli, 1992), p. 322,
plate 130.
3. Okada, Amina. Indian Miniatures of
the Mughal Court. Translated by Deke Dusinberre, (New
York: Harry N. Abrahms, Inc. Publishers, 1992), Page 129
Plate 51 Folio 51.
4. Sotheby's, Oriental Manuscripts and
Miniatures (Catalogue) London, October 19, 1994.
"Isfandiyar Hunting Lions" By Miskin, From The
Shahnama of Firdausi. Northern India, 1580 - 1585. Folio
261b, Lot 112,
5. Lentz, Thomas W. and Lowery, Glenn D. Timur
and The Princely Vision. (Washington DC: LACMA,
Sackler, and Smithsonian, 1989), notes p. 343, cat no 68.
6. Lentz, Thomas W. and Lowery, Glenn D. Timur
and The Princely Vision. (Washington DC: LACMA,
Sackler, and Smithsonian, 1989), p. 180 cat no 68.
7. Grube, Ernest J. Muslim Miniature
Paintings From the XIII to XIX Century. (Venezia,
Neri Pozza Editore, 1962) p.112 - 113.
8. Lentz, Thomas W. and Lowery, Glenn D. Timur
and The Princely Vision. (Washington DC: LACMA,
Sackler, and Smithsonian, 1989), p. 321 fig. 109.
9. Lentz, Thomas W. and Lowery, Glenn D. Timur
and The Princely Vision. (Washington DC: LACMA,
Sackler, and Smithsonian, 1989), notes p. 343, cat no 68.
10. Okada, Amina. Indian Miniatures of
the Mughal Court. Translated by Deke Dusinberre, (New
York: Harry N. Abrahms, Inc. Publishers, 1992), p. 137,
Plate 154.
Realistic Animals
, The Widener Mughal Animal
Carpet, Technical Description,
Fantastic Animals
For Further Reading:
Thanks and best wishes,
J. Barry O'Connell Jr.
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