Lot 229
  • 229

A black demon, a fragment from the Razmnama made for Abd al-Rahim Khan-Khanan, Mughal, 1616-17

Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • gouache with gold on paper
gouache with gold on paper, a fragment from a manuscript page

Provenance

Painted for the Mughal general and bibliophile Abd al-Rahim Khan-Khanan in 1616-17
Ex Hagop Kevorkian Collection, New York
Sotheby's, London, 7 December 1970, lot 110 (mounted with another miniature)
American private collection
Christie's, London, 14 October 2003, lot 154

Catalogue Note

The Razmnama is a Persian translation of the Hindu epic the Mahabarata, originally translated under Emperor Akbar's patronage from 1582. Akbar himself commissioned two illustrated copies, completed in 1586 (City Palace Museum, Jaipur) and 1598 (dispersed) respectively. A third illustrated copy, from which the present fragment originates, was commissioned by the great Mughal bibliophile Abd al-Rahim Khan-i Khanan, who was the senior general of the Mughal armies under Akbar and Jahangir, spending many years on campaign in the Deccan, where he established his own atelier. Folios from the manuscript are in various museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (55.121.30) and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.75.4.27, M.74.5.15). For a discussion of the illustrated Razmnama manuscripts see Seyller 1985.