St. Catherine of Siena, engraving by Carel de Mallery (1571-1645), Antwerp and Paris, early 16th century, reverse with fragments of poetry in nasta'liq script

original print by Carel de Mallery, some gilding added in Mughal India, mounted on a Lucknow album page with gold floral decoration, reverse with five lines of nast'aliq calligraphy in black ink on blue paper consisting of fragments of poetry, with similar gold floral borders

In generally good overall condition, engraving slightly rubbed, a few losses to calligraphic panel, as viewed.
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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."

As well as the frequent use of European prints as sources of compositional elements and iconographic themes, occasionally original prints themselves were used in Mughal album pages. In most cases these were mounted alongside Mughal works on the same page, whereas here the print has been mounted on its own as the main element. It seems that additional gilding has been applied to the print at the time it was mounted on to the album page, which is of a style associated with eighteenth-century Lucknow. Another print of St. Catherine of Siena is in the Dara Shikoh Album in the British Library (see Falk and Archer 1981, p.392, no.68.f.43).

The print is entitled beneath in Latin: 'CATHARINA SENENSIS/ inueni quem diligit anima mea, tenui eum nec dimittam/ Cant 37/ C de Mallery' ('CATHERINE OF SIENA/ I found him whom my soul loves, I held him and would not release/ Canticle 37/ C de Mallery'). The Latin text on the book that Catherine is holding reads: 'Dilectus meus candidus est rubicundus electus ex millibus' ('My beloved is radiant and ruddy, chiefest among ten thousand') and originates from the Song Of Solomon, 5.10.

Carel de Mallery (Karel van Mallery, 1571-1645) was an Antwerp engraver who worked in Paris and Antwerp in the early-seventeenth century. He also spent a few years at Rome in the 1590s.

St. Catherine of Siena (1347-80) was a tertiary of the Dominican Order, a philosopher and theologian, and was involved in Papal politics in the fourteenth century. She was born Caterina di Giacomo di Benincasa and after refusing to marry her sister's widower claimed to have experienced a mystical marriage with Christ, and later to have received the stigmata.