MADONNA AND CHILD: ATTRIBUTABLE TO MANOHAR, INDIA, MUGHAL, CIRCA 1580

Ink and opaque watercolor on paper

Formerly in the collection of Rudolf Riefstahl (1880-1936), the distinguished art historian and author of several books on Islamic Art including The Parish-Watson Collection of Mohammadan Potteries, New York, 1922. He was professor at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University in the 1920s and 30s.

Room for Wonder, Indian Painting during the British Period 1760-1880, The American Federation of Arts, New York, 1978-9
India, Art and Culture 1300-1900, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1985

Welch 1978, pp.18-19
Welch 1985, no.100, p.165-5

In generally good overall condition, some creasing to the miniature, particularly the middle left and top right portions, minor areas of flaking, particularly to the figure's headdress, minor areas of retouching, generally to the red cloak of the figure and small areas around background edges, some rubbing throughout although colours remain strong and bold, laid down on an album page with a collection (?) stamp at the top right accompanied by the numerals '25' in Arabic, a repaired vertical tear to the left of the painting, some other minor scuffs and rubbing, marginal gold bright, 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 is a rare and important early Mughal painting, attributed by Cary Welch to the artist Manohar (fl. 1580-1620). Both the figure of the Madonna and Child and classical chair (also known as a Savonarola chair) are sourced from a European print. The image of the Madonna and Child is not as unusual in Mughal painting as might be assumed, for a wide variety of Christian images and iconography had entered the Mughal artistic mileu during the second half of the 16th century through European prints and illustrated Bibles brought to India by Jesuit missionaries and other European travellers. The imagery was enthusiastically taken up by Akbar's artists, encouraged by the emperor himself, who was fascinated by Christianity and other religions and by Christian and European works of art  (he convened debates between scholars of Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Zoroastrianism). Welch has pointed out that the European style of the Madonna and Child in the present miniature is archaistically Byzantine (Welch 1978, p.19), and he relates it to a wall-painting at Fatehpur Sikri. In 1580, when Akbar was based at Fatehpur Sikri, he was given a copy of Plantin's Royal Polyglot Bible by Father Rudolph Aquaviva, and ordered his artists to copy the pictures. A second gift was said to have been given to him in the same year by Father Martin de Silva, which was thought to have been of a portrait of the Virgin in Byzantine style from the Borghese Chapel in Rome (Welch 1985, p.164).

It is interesting to note the way the artist has subtly altered the iconography, depicting the infant Christ as a figure of Krishna, with the Madonna adorned with Indian jewellery and holding an Indian fan (ibid.). Chairs of this type are seen quite frequently in early Mughal painting, see for instance, a portrait of a Female Lutanist in the British Museum (see Rogers 1993, fig.52, p.84) or a miniature of Four Europeans in the India Office Library (see Falk and Archer 1981, no.8, p.360).

Manohar was one of the leading artists of the ateliers of Akbar and Jahangir. Glenn Lowry describes him as "subtle and extremely gifted" (Beach 1978, p.130). Born in the 1560s, he was the son of the great master Basawan (see lot 90) and inherited not only his father's talent, but also some of his stylistic traits, which were further honed by working alongside his father in his early years. His career spanned approximately four decades and he was a prolific painter. Verma lists 114 surviving signed or attributed works in his biographical account (Verma 1994, pp.248-259). The earliest dated work by him is a self-portrait in a manuscript of the Gulistan of Sa'di (Royal Asiatic Society, see Okada 1992, pp.138-9), when he must still have been a teenager. That would make the present picture one of his early works. Lowry points out that, whereas Basawan was interested in volume, recession and roundness of form, his son Manohar was more concerned with line and surface pattern (Beach 1978, p.131). This observation is borne out by the present work, in which the folds of the Madonna's classical garments and the gadrooning of the gilt-wood chair are rendered with strong linear effects, emphasising what would have been visible in the European original, and the depiction of the volume, depth and recession of the figures and the chair are not apparently priorities.

A closely related miniature of Christ, The Virgin and St. Anne is illustrated in Welch 1963b, pl.14, A further related drawing attributed to Manohar was sold in these rooms 12 December  1972, lot 28; see also Welch 1963a, fig.11, p.226.

For discussions of Manohar see Okada 1992, pp.136-147; Beach 1978, pp.130-137; Verma 1994, pp.248-259; McInerney 1991.