A tethered stallion, attributable to Govardhan, Mughal, circa 1600-10

ink drawing with use of colour and gold on paper, mounted on an album page, probably of 18th-century Lucknow origin, with yellow border decorated with green and gold flowers, the verso with a quatrain in nasta'liq script, borders of purple paper decorated with pink lotus buds

Collection of Mrs. Lucy Strickland
Sotheby’s, London, 13 December 1965, lot 1
Sir Howard Hodgkin, C.H., C.B.E., London (b.1932)
Acquired in 1966

Indian Drawing, exhibition catalogue, Hodgkin and McInerney, Hayward Gallery - Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton Art Gallery - Coventry, Herbert Art Gallery - Bolton, Bolton Museum and Art Gallery - Sheffield, Graves Art Gallery, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1983

Hodgkin and McInerney 1983, no.19

In good overall condition report, a few light creases and small losses, some damage to calligraphy on reverse in lower section, as viewed.
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This drawing has been attributed to Govardhan by Robert Skelton (personal communication) based on the overall naturalism of the animal and the European influence visible in the handling of the saddle drapery. The intense energy of the horse is enhanced by the arched neck, the open mouth pulling at the bit and the straining tethers, and yet the actual draughtsmanship is very delicate and refined, contrasting successfully with the robust folds and strong colours of the saddle cloths. It can be compared to the horses in a battle scene by Govardhan from a manuscript of the Garshaspnama of circa 1610 (David Collection, Copenhagen, 17/2004), see Sotheby's London, 28 April 2004, lot 57; Seyller in Beach, Fischer and Goswamy 2011, p.367, fig.8; for zoomable images that show the detail and energy of his horses, and support the attribution, see https://www.davidmus.dk/en/collections/islamic/materials/miniatures/art/17-2004

The figure here owes much to earlier Mughal portraits of horses, including those by Abd al-Samad, who was noted for his skill in rendering equine subjects, and to others such as a painting of a horse and groom by Sanwalah of circa 1590, in the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto (formerly Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan Collection), which has a saddle cloth of very similar style to the present example. For the horses of Abd al-Samad see Canby in Das et al. 1998, pp.14-27, and Canby in Beach, Fischer and Goswamy 2011, pp.97-110, figs.4, 7, 8 and 11. For the Sanwalah example see Canby 1998, p.118, no.86. 

Govardhan, one of the greatest royal artists of the Mughal period, was born at court, a 'house-born' son of the artist Bavanidas. His earliest works were illustrations for manuscripts at the end of Akbar's reign in the early years of the seventeenth century. He moved to Allahabad with Prince Salim and continued in the royal atelier through the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan, until around 1645. He developed a distinctive style that was simultaneously delicate and penetrating, with a strong interest in psychological observation and, in later years, a mellow manner of lighting that verges on sfumato. For further discussion of his style and illustrations of his work see Beach 1978, pp.118-125; Beach in Das et al. 1998, pp.134-145; Leach 1995, vol.II, pp.1103-1104; Okada 1992, pp.185-205; Seyller in Beach, Fischer and Goswamy 2011, pp.357-374.