A Prince on Horseback Hunting a Lion
Artist/Culture
Mughal
Date1650-1699
Mediumwatercolor and gold metallic paint on paper; mounted on a later Indian paper
Dimensionsoverall: 25 x 22.5 cm (9 13/16 x 8 7/8 in)
image: 20.6 x 17.2 cm (8 1/8 x 6 3/4 in)
image: 20.6 x 17.2 cm (8 1/8 x 6 3/4 in)
ClassificationsNon-Western Miniatures
Credit LineIslamic Rug Fund and Stoddard Acquisition Fund
Object number1991.34
Label TextThe hunt was one of the favorite occupations of Indian rulers and hunt scenes are popular in Mughal painting. In this image the prince has tracked the lion to its lair where the bones of the animal's previous victim litter the foreground. The almost portrait-like treatment of the prince reflects the development of the realistic portraitas an important genre in Mughal painting. The use of light and shade to model the figure contrasts with the flatter, more patternizing treatment of the vegetation.
The oval format is rare in Mughal painting and was adapted from Western Miniature painting. The painter has accommodated his subject to his demanding compositional format successfully through the careful placement of the compositional elements, building the landscape elements vertically to echo the oval shape, and using vegetatinto frame the mounted hunter and his prey.ProvenanceTerence McInerney, 244 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016On View
Not on view
