A DOUBLE-SIDED ILLUSTRATION WITH EMBOSSED FOLIO DEPICTING A PORTRAIT OF A DECCANI NOBLEMAN WITH CALLIGRAPHY ON VERSO

Good overall condition with wear and abrasions to the green ground clearly visible in catalog illustration. The figure is in very good condition. The green background is slightly darker in reality. Exhibited in a temporary frame.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

An elder Deccani nobleman dressed in a dark mauve-gray pleated gold-embroidered jama, shawl and patka holds a delicate blossom. Wearing a fur stoll collar he stands amidst flowering plants against a verdigris horizonless ground. This portrait of an unidentified courtier compares (in handling although of a different subject) with a Deccani portrait formerly in the Alice and Nasli Heerameneck Collection, of General Firoz-Jang Khan, father of Asaf-Jah Nizam-al-Mulk the founder of Hyderabad State and dateable to ca. 1680. The present portrait has a similar clarity of style and crisply detailed handling. Both works are capped with delicately brushed clouds - our portrait streaked with deft strokes of gold crimson and mauve.

See The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 1966, cat.219, p. 160.