An enthroned ruler receiving a petition, India, Mughal, late 16th/early 17th century

Ex-collection Szerer, sold in Arts d'Orient, Boisgirard, Drouot, Paris, 22 October 2008, lot 91

This detailed court scene depicts a ruler seated on a resplendent gold throne, on a raised dais, under a red canopy. He appears to be listening to a petition being put forward by two figures to his left with outstretched hands. A few courtiers and attendants stand around him, the figures to his right carrying weapons wrapped in cloth. A couple of musicians are playing before the throne. The foreground includes two falconers and a row of men standing arm-in-arm placed along the lower edge of the painting.

The composition is typical of illustrations from early Mughal manuscripts of this period. Examples of related compositions can be found in several historical works, such as the imperial Akbarnama dated to circa 1590-95 in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. See, for instance, a painting depicting festivities of the marriage of Baqi Muhammad Khan, the eldest son of Maham Anaga who was the foster-mother of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, by the artists La’l and Sanwala (IS.2:9-1896). The left-hand side folio of the double-page illustration has a closely comparable composition to the present painting. The festivities are being held at the court of Akbar with the emperor seated on a similar throne surrounded by dancers, musicians, courtiers and attendants.

For other closely related Mughal paintings depicting the Emperors Timur and Akbar enthroned, dated to circa 1600 or the early seventeenth century, see Christie’s London, 26 October 2017, lot 142; and 25 June 2020, lot 60.