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A dervish of the Qalandari order with a pet sheep, by Mukund, Mughal, circa 1585-95
Description
- A DERVISH OF THE QALANDARI ORDER WITH A PET SHEEP
- Brush and ink, heightened with colour, on paper
- 115 x 58 mm (233 x 149 mm, including borders)
Provenance
Georges Joseph Demotte, Paris and New York (1877-1923)
Demotte Inc., New York
Mrs. Charles E. Slatkin, New York (1908-2000)
Acquired in 1973
Exhibited
In the Image of Man, Hayward Gallery, London, 1982
Literature
London 1982-I, pp.170-1, no.267
Verma 1994, p.307, no.52
Leach 1995, vol.I, p.301 footnote 2, vol.II, p.1114, footnote 1 under Mukund
Seyller 2000, p.200
Seyller 2002, p.75, under no.16 and footnote 4.
Condition
"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
"Thousands of points can be much finer than a strand of hair
A shaven head does not signify knowledge of Qalandar spirituality".
The sense of the couplet, that becoming a Sufi of the Qalandar order is no easy thing, is clearly pertinent to the image, which depicts a devotee of that Sufi order.
Mukund was one of the few artists chosen by Abu'l Fazl for special mention in the A'in-i Akbari as having "attained fame" (translated by Blochmann 1873 (reprint 1989), vol.I, p.114). Among other manuscripts, he worked on the Jaipur Razmnama, the Jaipur Ramayana and the Victoria and Albert Museum Akbarnama. It is likely that he also worked on the Hamzanama. Leach writes of the present miniature: "The painter apparently thought well of himself since he justifiably signed a small drawing of a yogi as 'Mukund, the Master'. This drawing, his poetry pages and others indicate that Mukund was a sensitive painter interested in precision and minute detail rather than bold effects." (Leach 1995, vol.II, p.1114). Seyller, while discussing a similar miniature of a pilgrim (B.M. 1983 37-27 01) attributed to Mukund, refers to the present miniature: "Many of these features reappear in another, albeit lightly coloured, image of an ascetic with a pet sheep ascribed to Mukund, and support an attribution to this artist." (Seyller 2002, pp.74-75, no.16; see also Rogers 1993, p.31, fig.10).
For other drawings of the same period and subject (accompanied by dogs instead of a sheep) see Okada 1991, p.15, fig.15 (signed by Basawan); Welch and Masteller 2004, pp.88-89, no.21 (circa 1590, attributed to Basawan). For a discussion of seventeenth-century Mughal evaluation both monetary and aesthetic, see Seyller in Philadelphia 2001, p.15.