Miniature. ‘Khusraw Beholding Shirin Bathing’
India, Deccan, Hyderabad; c. 1720-1740
Miniature: 27.6 × 18.4 cm
Inventory number 52/2002
The miniature’s motif comes from Nizami’s famous romance about Khusraw and Shirin that was written in Iran at the end of the 12th century. This painting, which was never part of a manuscript, was made in Hyderabad, a state that was created in the Deccan in around 1725 after the Mughal Empire had begun to disintegrate.
The two protagonists and the slightly smaller minor characters – the men in Persian garb, the women in more Indian attire – were placed in a charming puppet-theater landscape that ranges from apple green to violet, with buildings that are completely out of proportion with their surroundings. The style truly lives up to the slightly eccentric reputation of art from the Deccan.
The two protagonists and the slightly smaller minor characters – the men in Persian garb, the women in more Indian attire – were placed in a charming puppet-theater landscape that ranges from apple green to violet, with buildings that are completely out of proportion with their surroundings. The style truly lives up to the slightly eccentric reputation of art from the Deccan.
Published in
Published in
Kjeld von Folsach: For the Privileged Few: Islamic Miniature Painting from The David Collection, Louisiana, Humlebæk 2007, cat.no. 115;
Kjeld von Folsach, Joachim Meyer: The Human Figure in Islamic Art – Holy Men, Princes, and Commoners, The David Collection, Copenhagen 2017, fig. 45, p. 193;
Rasmus Bech Olsen: ”Desire, Sex and Gender in Book Paintings from the Islamic World” in Rasmus Bech Olsen (ed.): The Art of Desire: An Ottoman Sex Manual and Its Context, The David Collection, Copenhagen 2026, fig. 1, p. 14;
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