A MARBLED PAPER HORSE, INDIA, DECCAN, OR PERSIA, CIRCA 18TH CENTURY

Ink and gold ink on marbled paper, overwritten with Persian verses in black ink in nasta'liq script, marbled reverse with three columns of Persian verses in nasta'liq script

This is a delicate and finely executed image of a bucking horse, executed in reserve and outlined in gold on marbled paper. The tradition of marbled drawings is discussed fully in the footnote to lots 114 and 115 in this sale, where further references are given. Here the style of the horse is Deccani in character, but the verses and style of calligraphy mean that a Persian origin cannot be ruled out.