A woman holds the feet of a man sleeping in a pavilion, a fragment from the Hamzanama, India, Mughal, circa 1560-75

gouache heightened with gold on paper, laid down on two separate album pages with different coloured borders, joined at the centre

Sotheby's London, 15 July 1975, lots 88 and 89.

J. Seyller, The Adventures of Hamza, Washington D.C., 2002, pp.278-9, nos.R174 and R175.

In fair overall condition, two fragments of the same painting rejoined at the centre and taped on the reverse, some overpainting (consistent with this series of painting), as viewed.
"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."

This painting of a man sleeping in a pavilion first sold in these rooms in July 1975 as two separate fragments in two different lots, but which were once part of the same painting. They have now been rejoined, to make a larger fragment of a leaf from Emperor Akbar's manuscript of the Hamzanama.

The famous Hamzanama is the monumental series of approximately 1,400 large-scale cloth paintings made for Emperor Akbar between about 1560 and 1575 that illustrated the legendary exploits of Amir Hamza, the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad (for summaries of the various theories on the dating of the Hamzanama see Leach 1986, p.39, n.9; Stronge 2002, p.177, n.35; Losty in Beach, Fischer and Goswamy 2011, vol.I, pp.72-73). The scale of this project was unprecedented in Indian art, both in terms of the size of the illustrations (each page measures approximately 70 by 55cm, even without the now mostly lost borders) and in terms of sheer number of illustrations. For a thorough study and illustrations of the majority of the surviving pages see Seyller 2002.