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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1999.295
People
Attributed to Basawan, Indian (16th century)
Title
A Mughal and a Rajput Converse at Dusk
Classification
Paintings
Work Type
painting
Date
late 16th century
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India
Period
Mughal period
Culture
Mughal
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/217186

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
20.3 x 11.5 cm (8 x 4 1/2 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Stuart Cary Welch, Jr.
Accession Year
1999
Object Number
1999.295
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Under a red canopy in a gated, outdoor setting, are two figures in conversation. On the left is a Mughal who sits with his legs folded under him. He wears a blue and gold turban, a brown robe (jama), and a waist sash (patka). Tucked into his sash is a punch dagger (katar). His right hand is raised in conversation. The attendant behind the Mughal, dressed in a purple robe and turban, holds a white scarf above the Mughal’s head, denoting his royal status. However, the identity of the Mughal figure remains uncertain. He is receiving visitation from a Rajput, identifiable by his turban, facial hair, and darker complexion. He wears long-stranded necklaces, a seafoam green robe, and a patterned waist sash. He sits on a floral carpet with his legs also folded under him. The background is filled with large trees and flowers.

Publication History

  • Stuart Cary Welch, "Early Mughal Miniature Paintings From Two Private Collections Shown at the Fogg Art Museum", Ars Orientalis; The Arts of Islam and the East, Freer Gallery of Art / Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C., 1959), Vol. 3, 133 - 146, Plate 10/Figure 15
  • Stuart Cary Welch, The Art of Mughal India: Painting & Precious Objects, exh. cat., Harry N. Abrams, Inc. and Asia Society Museum (New York, NY, 1963), p.164, no. 16, pl. 16
  • Howard Hodgkin and Terence McInerney, Indian Drawing : An Exhibition Chosen by Howard Hodgkin, exh. cat., Arts Council of Great Britain, London (London, England, 1983), Figure 31
  • Naveen Patnaik and Stuart Cary Welch, A Second Paradise: Indian Courtly Life, 1590-1947, Doubleday & Co. (Garden City, NY, 1985), page 40, 179/figure 2

Exhibition History

  • Portraiture in Iran and India, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 12/09/1983 - 02/01/1984
  • Five Masters of Persian and Indian Painting, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/11/1992 - 03/09/1992
  • Earthly Paradise: Gardens in Islamic Art, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 05/08/1993 - 08/22/1993
  • Courts and Countryside: Islamic Paintings from the 14th through the 17th Century, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/21/1999 - 08/22/1999
  • A Sea in a Jug: The Welch Collection of Art from the Islamic World and Later South Asia, Colby College Museum of Art, 02/20/2020 - 11/01/2020

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu