Mughal Miniature - Indian Art News https://indianartnews.visionsarts.com News on Modern and Contemporary Indian Art presented by Visions Art Fri, 23 Apr 2021 15:30:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://i0.wp.com/indianartnews.visionsarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/cropped-Visions-Art.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Mughal Miniature - Indian Art News https://indianartnews.visionsarts.com 32 32 136536861 Indian Art Collection of Howard Hodgkin May Find a Home at the Met, Despite Provenance Concerns https://indianartnews.visionsarts.com/indian-art-collection-howard-hodgkin/ https://indianartnews.visionsarts.com/indian-art-collection-howard-hodgkin/#respond Fri, 23 Apr 2021 15:26:47 +0000 https://indianartnews.visionsarts.com/?p=1204 The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford turned down the complete collection, valued at £7.2 million, due to concerns over the works’ provenance. In a 1991 essay on the development of …

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The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford turned down the complete collection, valued at £7.2 million, due to concerns over the works’ provenance.

Habiballah of Sava, “A Stallion” (c. 1601-1606), formerly in the collection of Howard Hodgkin. In addition to the potential impending acquisition of Hodgkin’s collection, the Met already owns several artworks previously belonging to, or purchased with funds from, Hodgkin. (courtesy the Met’s Open Access Policy)

In a 1991 essay on the development of his personal art collection, British painter and printmaker Sir Howard Hodgkin recalled his first purchase of an Indian work of art, a colorful depiction of people lounging in a garden painted in Aurangabad in the 17th century. “I must have been about fourteen years old,” Hodgkin wrote. “I have no recollection of how I paid for it.” He remembered that he had tried betting on horses at the race track to raise the requisite funds, but lost.

Though it didn’t stay in Hodgkin’s collection for long, that early acquisition marked an important first step in the artist’s lifelong commitment to collecting Indian art and his passion for the country itself. Hodgkin, a Turner Prize winner renowned for his vividly pigmented abstractions, said that India “changed my way of thinking and probably, the way I paint.” (In 1992, he was also commissioned to paint a large mural for the British Council building in New Delhi.)

When he died in 2017 at the age of 84, Hodgkin left behind a collection of over 115 Indian paintings and drawings from the 16th to 19th centuries, with a particular emphasis on Mughal art — art from India’s last Islamic dynasty — which emerged in conversation with Persian miniature painting and flourished in court ateliers, perhaps most famously, that of Akbar.

Hodgkin’s varied holdings, which he said were led by an artistic eye, rather than a scholarly one, include a large-scale Kota painting of a royal hunting trip with tigers and lion as prey; a Deccani illumination of a vase, which is an ancient fertility motif in Indian art; and an intricate 17th-century painting of a wedding procession, led by a man on an elephant, cutting through a bazaar. Hodgkin was quite partial to depictions of elephants, writing in 1983 that “good Indian drawings of elephants are more frequently encountered than any other subject,” perhaps due to the animals’ shifting volumes and surfaces.

Hodgkin had hoped that his beloved collection, which is said to be valued at over £7.2 million (~$9.9 million), would be transferred in its entirety to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. The Ashmolean, which presented Hodgkin’s collection in an exhibition titled Visions of Mughal India in 2012, has the most comprehensive holdings of objects from the Indian subcontinent of any British museum outside of London, including numerous examples of Mughal art.

However, a source told the Guardian that the Ashmolean turned down the collection due to concerns over the works’ provenance. “One funding body warned the museum privately that, without proof of certain works having left India entirely legally, it would not offer a grant towards the purchase and future grants could also be affected if the museum acquired it anyway,” the British news outlet reported.

Hodgkin’s longtime partner, the music critic Antony Peattie, explained that Hodgkin bought art from international dealers without posing questions about the works’ path from India. “The priorities when Howard was collecting in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s were quality, not provenance,” Peattie said.

Andrew Topsfield, an honorary curator at the Ashmolean with a specialty in art from the Mughal period, determined that 40% of the works on offer had “clear and secure,” fully documented provenance that demonstrated that the works had left India legally. While the museum expressed interest in acquiring only this group of sanctioned works, Hodgkin had always wanted the collection to stay together, viewing it as an autonomous entity of sorts. The deal didn’t go through.

Now, the Guardian has revealed that the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is considering acquiring Hodgkin’s collection, despite the provenance questions that gave the Ashmolean qualms. Peattie confirmed that the acquisition was under discussion at the Met, but made clear that “nothing’s settled.” The Met, the article said, declined to comment. (The museum has not responded to Hyperallergic’s immediate request for comment.)

In addition to having over a dozen works by Hodgkin himself in its permanent collection, the Met also already owns several artworks previously belonging to, or purchased with funds from, Hodgkin, including a painting of a stallion (c. 1601-6) from present-day Afghanistan, an album page with Christian subjects from the late 16th century, and a 17th-century painting of preparations for a hunt, among others.

by Cassie Packard

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‘Mughal Painting’: Tiny works tell a story of vast wealth https://indianartnews.visionsarts.com/mughal-painting-tiny-works-tell-a-story-of-vast-wealth/ https://indianartnews.visionsarts.com/mughal-painting-tiny-works-tell-a-story-of-vast-wealth/#respond Sat, 09 Aug 2014 06:33:00 +0000 http://indianartnews.info/mughal-painting-tiny-works-tell-a-story-of-vast-wealth/ A review of “Mughal Painting: Power and Piety,” exquisite miniature paintings from the wealthy dynasty that ruled India for hundreds of years. At Seattle Asian Art Museum through Dec. …

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A review of “Mughal Painting: Power and Piety,” exquisite miniature paintings from the wealthy dynasty that ruled India for hundreds of years. At Seattle Asian Art Museum through Dec. 7.
By Nancy Worssam
Special to The Seattle Times
One of the major figures depicted in “Mughal Painting” is Akbar, shown on horseback in this 17th-century painting. He <br/>was
One of the major figures depicted in “Mughal Painting” is Akbar, shown on horseback in this 17th-century painting. 

Emeralds and empires, rubies and royalty, pearls and power. In the early 16th century, Muslim invaders from the West swept into Hindu India and established a dynasty that lasted into the mid-19th century. These Mughal emperors became immensely wealthy, enabling them to commission astounding artworks and jeweled adornments.
The small but dazzling collection now exhibited at Seattle Asian Art Museum, “Mughal Painting: Power and Piety,” offers a peek at the lifestyle and history of the Mughal Empire and an insight into the extent of its wealth.
The paintings are miniatures, an art style that fuses Indian and Persian art traditions. They were created by hundreds of the finest artists of their time working in ateliers set up by the Mughals to produce art that honored the royal line and depicted its epics, triumphs and daily life.
Not only are the paintings artistic jewels, but jewels were incorporated within the materials from which they were made. Gold paint is prevalent, and the blues are made from lapis lazuli.
Though shown in this exhibit as framed paintings, at the time they were created they were preserved in albums or within manuscripts to illustrate texts. Of course, the Mughal and his court reserved these for their own use. Sadly, over time most of them have been lost, a fact that makes this exhibit especially important.
Complementing the paintings are a number of extravagant cultural items such as daggers, a mirror, a pen case and walking-stick heads. They are made of the finest jade and crystal, each adorned with gems and gold. They remind one of the collections at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.
Look carefully at the displayed paintings and you will see similar items. Fortunately, the museum has provided magnifying glasses in the gallery so visitors have an opportunity to compare and marvel at the detail.
One of the major figures depicted here is Akbar, the third in the Mughal line, reigning at the same time as Elizabeth I of England. Akbar was amazing in many ways. A man of great intellect, he couldn’t read. Scholars today suggest he was dyslexic, but that never crushed his quest for knowledge. He commanded his artists to create these classic and historically important images. Written explanations were mounted on the rear of the pictures and read to him.
Akbar demanded realism as his artists depicted religious narratives and conquests and illustrated the milestones of his life. One of the miniatures depicts Akbar’s son Jahangir saluting his father.
Akbar respected the Hindu maharajahs he conquered, allowing them to rule their lands as long as they loyally tithed and provided armies for him when they were needed. He also saw the value of marrying one of their daughters and allowing her to retain her own religion.
In a world of religious intolerance, he respected others; among the miniatures on display is one of the Virgin Mary, while another depicts the Hindu god Krishna in a battle scene.
Because works on paper cannot be exposed to light indefinitely, another exhibition of SAAM’s Mughal art will replace this one in December. I look forward to it.
Nancy Worssam: ngworssam@gmail.com

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Miniature Worlds: Art from India at The Palmer Museum of Art https://indianartnews.visionsarts.com/miniature-worlds-art-from-india-at-the-palmer-museum-of-art/ https://indianartnews.visionsarts.com/miniature-worlds-art-from-india-at-the-palmer-museum-of-art/#respond Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:49:00 +0000 http://indianartnews.info/miniature-worlds-art-from-india-at-the-palmer-museum-of-art/ Artdaily Nanda Consults the Astrologers, c. 1790, opaque watercolor on paper, 17 x 21 inches. Collection The Art Complex Museum. Image courtesy ExhibitsUSA. UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.- Miniature Worlds: Art …

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Artdaily

Nanda Consults the Astrologers, c. 1790, opaque watercolor on paper, 17 x 21 inches. Collection The Art Complex Museum. Image courtesy ExhibitsUSA.

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.- Miniature Worlds: Art from India features watercolors, drawings, and sculpture spanning 400 years of Indian history. The exhibition illuminates various forms of Indic media from the 15th to the 19th centuries as well as aspects of its religion and history. All of the artworks are drawn from the Leland C. and Paula Wyman Collection of The Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, Massachusetts, an extraordinary collection of 300 paintings purchased in the late 1960s. These works have had a significant influence on contemporary artists from India and the United States.

Two major painting traditions, Rajput and Mughal, are represented in the exhibition. Rajput paintings focus on religious themes, including images of Hindu and Jain deities, and feature a native style with bold, flat colors. In 1526, the Mughal dynasty ushered in new themes, particularly history painting and portraiture. Mughal paintings reflect a fascination with legendary history and a Persian influence in its bold composition, variety of colors, and meticulous brushwork. Religion and love are two of the five main themes that comprise the exhibition, and the most active images illustrate heroic battles and hunting scenes.

Miniature Worlds is curated by Alice R. M. Hyland, Ph.D., of Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, in collaboration with Catherine Mayes, Senior Curator at The Art Complex Museum. Joan Cummins of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Dr. John Seyller of the University of Vermont, both experts in the field, have served as advisors. Extensive educational and didactic materials accompany the exhibition, including a timeline, maps, and a magnifying glass to enable visitors to study the remarkable details contained in these works.

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