Drawing. ‘Four Musicians’
India, Mughal; beginning of 18th century
Leaf: 15.7 × 13.7 cm
Inventory number D 11/1994
Part of life at court was musical entertainment. This Mughal drawing provides a beautiful and precise portrayal of an ensemble in the process of plying their trade. At the back is a musician with a three-stringed, long-necked lute, which strikes the keynote for the piece. The next claps the rhythm and might also be the quartet’s singer. The third plays a vina and is the instrumental soloist. The one in front plays a double drum.
The drawing was not finished. Details such as the ears are incomplete and the strings are missing. As is so often the case, there is no setting to denote the context.
The drawing was not finished. Details such as the ears are incomplete and the strings are missing. As is so often the case, there is no setting to denote the context.
Published in
Published in
Gustaf Munthe: Orientaliska miniatyrer och manuskript: katalog med konsthistorisk inledning, Röhrska Konstslöjdmuseet and Det danske Kunstindustrimuseum, København 1929, cat.no. 80 (no photo);
Kjeld von Folsach, Torben Lundbæk and Peder Mortensen (eds.): Sultan, Shah and Great Mughal: the history and culture of the Islamic world, The National Museum, Copenhagen 1996, cat.no. 227;
Kjeld von Folsach: Art from the World of Islam in The David Collection, Copenhagen 2001, cat.no. 74;
Kjeld von Folsach: For the Privileged Few: Islamic Miniature Painting from The David Collection, Louisiana, Humlebæk 2007, cat.no. 110;
Kjeld von Folsach, Torben Lundbæk and Peder Mortensen (eds.): Sultan, Shah and Great Mughal: the history and culture of the Islamic world, The National Museum, Copenhagen 1996, cat.no. 227;
Kjeld von Folsach: Art from the World of Islam in The David Collection, Copenhagen 2001, cat.no. 74;
Kjeld von Folsach: For the Privileged Few: Islamic Miniature Painting from The David Collection, Louisiana, Humlebæk 2007, cat.no. 110;
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