Central Asia, India/Persia, ca. 18th to 19th century CE. A fine miniature illuminated manuscript page depicting a hand-painted scene of a game of polo at court in the Mughal Empire on handmade paper - with calligraphic script bordering the scenes, in the margins, and on the verso. The Mughals, Islamic dynasty rulers of northern India between 1526 and 1857, were known for their great patronage of the arts. Artists created intricate paintings and illuminated manuscripts depicting scenes of daily life, adventurous tales, mythological, royalty, and recreational scenes like this one. The compositions are beautifully balanced and finely painted in rich tones. Size: 11.75" L x 8" W (29.8 cm x 20.3 cm)

The text of "Karmamak-i-Ardishi-i-Papakanone" includes one of the earliest references to polo in Persia (Iran) where it was known as chaugan (meaning mallet). This text also states that Ardashir, the founder of Sassanian dynasty, was quite skilled at the sport. What's more, in India the first Mughal emperor Zahir ud-din Babur established chaugan as a popular sport at the Mughal court. In addition, during the 1560s, the Mughal Emperor Jalal ud-din Akbar, who was famous for having gold and silver knobs at the end of his mallet, introduced a set of rules and cleverly invented an illuminated ball for playing at night.

Miniature painting emerged in Persian art during the 13th century. Following the Mongol conquests, the genre displayed strong Chinese influence, and the tradition reached its peak during the 15th and 16th centuries. Furthermore, Persian miniature painting influenced other Islamic miniature traditions, including the Ottoman miniature created in Turkey as well as the Mughal miniature of India.

Interestingly, Persian art - although under the influence of Islam - never completely forbade the inclusion of the human figure. Furthermore, the depiction of figures - oftentimes in groups - is a common practice in the miniature tradition. Scholars believe that this was because the miniature was used as a private form of visual culture. These images were kept in a book or an album and only shown to a select audience. For this reason, artists could be more free when creating miniatures than when creating wall paintings which were viewed by a wider audience. The Koran (Qur'an) and other religious texts were not illustrated in this way as a rule; however, other works of literature and histories at times included religious scenes, some with depictions of Muhammed, although those rendered after 1500 usually do not present his face.

Mughal painting refers to a type of miniature painting - either serving as book illustrations or created as single work. The term miniature suggests a tiny scale; however, it actually indicates a style of watercolor work similar to early European book illustrations that used the red pigment minia. Some Indian miniatures are in fact quite large. The Mughal style stems from Persian miniature painting, though with Indian Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist influences, evolving largely throughout the Mughal Empire (16th to 19th centuries), and eventually spreading to other Indian courts - Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh - flourishing during the reigns of Akbar, Shah Jahan, and Jahangir. The tradition continues today with Mughal-style miniature paintings still being created, though only by a relatively small number of artists in Rajasthan.

Provenance: private San Francisco, California, USA collection

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#135775

Normal toning to paper commensurate with age. Page has tape marks and water stains as shown. There are a few minor tears/losses to the edges. The text in the left margin shows some fading, but otherwise the image and calligraphic text are relatively vivid.