A princely scribe seated with a group of holy men on a terrace at night, Mughal, circa 1660-70

gouache with gold on paper, borders of gold-decorated pink and blue paper, later apocryphal ascription on border: "raqam kamtarin 'abd al-samad", numbered '302'and '4' on reverse

Sotheby's London, 22 November 1976, lot 25.

Wonders of a Golden Age, Zurich, 1987.

B.N. Goswamy and E. Fischer, Wonders of a Golden Age, Zurich, 1987,  p.188, no.92.

The painting with some rubbing, particularly along external edges, some hairline creases, particularly along corners, some light flaking notably to moon, cat, minor part of rug, white curtain, set in borders, reverse with remnants of textile lining, as viewed.
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Scenes of princes visiting holy men was a popular theme for Mughal painters, particularly in the seventeenth century when Prince Dara Shikoh's interest in Sufism and mystical aspects of other religions led him to frequent gatherings of holy men. But he was far from the only Mughal prince to visit religious figures, and rulers set great store by their associations with spiritual leaders. The early Mughal historian Badauni gives accounts of holy men and their attributes: "I... will commence with the enumeration of some of the holy men of the age, for an account of noble men who have chosen the way of God is in every way to be preferred to an account of scoundrels and debauchees." (Badauni, quoted in Goswamy and Fischer 1987, p.188).

The present work is painted in a delicate, atmospheric style with great attention to detail in elements such as the bowls of fruit, the swirling carpet design, the jewellery and textiles and the boats on the river or lake in the background. The night-time atmosphere is conveyed through a soft smokiness reminiscent of the artist Payag, and the moonlight reflecting off the clouds is rendered with great naturalism.

The ascription to Abd al-Samad at the lower edge is apocryphal and added later.