Lot 91
  • 91

INCIDENT AT SEA: A PAGE FROM THE SALIM ALBUM, ATTRIBUTABLE TO MISKIN, INDIA, MUGHAL, CIRCA 1580-85

Estimate
30,000 - 40,000 GBP
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Description

  • Ink, opaque watercolour and gold on paper
  • 5 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches
Page from a small-format Persian manuscript, ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, mounted on an album page with borders of gold-speckled green paper

Provenance

Formerly in the Sevadjian Collection, Paris
Paris, Hotel Drouot, Collection Sevadjian, October 1961, lot 48
(The Sevadjian Collection, full of Islamic and Indian treasures, was dispersed in Paris at auction in 1927, 1960 and 1961).

Exhibited

Akbar's India: Art from the Mughal City of Victory, The Asia Society, New York; Harvard University Art Museums; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1985-1986

Literature

Brand and Lowry 1985, cat.23, pp.63, 141-2
Wright 2008, no.30, p.458

Condition

In good condition. Minor smudging to some small areas of text lines below miniature.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

This gem-like miniature, rendered with great delicacy and control, originates from an as-yet unidentified small-format manuscript of Persian poetry made during Akbar's time at Fatehpur Sikri or Lahore. It has been linked to the artist Miskin based on the close similarity to two other nautical scenes, one an illustration signed by Miskin in a manuscript of the Anvar-i Suhaili in the Bharat Kala Bhavan, Benares, the other an illustration of Noah's Ark attributed to Miskin (probably from a copy of the Diwan of Hafez) in the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. (see Beach 1981, pp.122-3; Welch 1978b, pl.9; Brand and Lowry 1985, p.142). In particular, the figures falling into the sea from the edge of the ship are almost identical to those in the present work.

Miskin (fl. circa 1580-1604) was one of the greatest artists of Akbar's court. . He was the son of Mahesh, another artist of Akbar's atelier, and quickly rose to a senior level within the atelier in the 1580s. He contributed to most of the royal illustrated manuscripts produced in the late 16th century. He was receptive to the new conventions of European painting to which Akbari artists were exposed at this time, and combined these with an inherent understanding of Persian modes, as well as the Mughal interest in realism, tinged with a slightly whimsical sense and love of dramatic scenes. Vaughan describes him as an artist of style and genius, and Okada describes him as a brilliant artist. For further discussion of Miskin see Vaughan 1991, pp.17-38; Verma 1994, pp.281-287; Okada 1992, pp.125-136; Beach 1981, as indexed.

The text above and below was translated by Annemarie Schimmel, as follows:
"We are those whose boat is broken - Oh favourable wind, blow -
Perhaps we may see again the well-known [or swimming] friend"
"My crying will destroy the world -
Bring Noah's Ark for here is the flood
"

The size, format and decoration of the inner borders all point to this being a page from the Salim Album, an album thought to have been prepared for Prince Salim (late Emperor Jahangir) during the years 1600-1604, when he set up his own court at Allahabad. The album has been discussed over the years and the most thorough recent analysis can be found in Wright 2008, pp.54-67, 456-458, where she lists the present page as no.30. The present page has been remounted in outer borders from a different album, altering the dimensions of the page as a whole and taking away the distinctive outer borders of gold-illuminated cream paper, and perhaps disguising the origin from previous scholars. However, the dimensions and manner of illumination of the inner borders is exactly the same as other pages from this album.

Cary Welch's handwritten notes on the backboard of the frame include the following:
"Drama at Sea, Mughal, c.1585 (Lahore) from a pocket-size ms."
"recalls superb boats - sea - birds - painting in Jaipur Razmnama"
"Miskin?"
"folio mounted in green-edged borders, & given orange rulings etc., during late Akbar or early Jahangir period, c.1605 (gold arabesques on green are like those in a portrait album of late Akbar period).
"bt. for SCW at Sevadjian sale, Paris, via Mlle Densmore"