'LION AT REST', MUGHAL EMPIRE 1526-1857. Watercolors on paper. The resting lion reclining in a bamboo grove within a rocky landscape under dark wispy clouds, raising his hind legs while lightly crossing the fore paws in one of his natural poses. The beast's face shows a fierce expression with wild eyes and pricked ears, the mouth agape revealing sharp teeth and a long tongue. The fur, mane, and bushy end of the tail finely executed with meticulous linework.

Provenance: English trade, acquired by the last owner at auction in the United Kingdom within the last ten years. Old label 'CA b' to lower left corner.
Condition: Good condition with some wear, minor soiling, creasing, few small losses, one repaired tear (approx. 8 cm long) to left edge, further minor tears to edges, the upper margin with old masking tape.

Dimensions: Size 47 x 69 cm

The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. For some two hundred years, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus river basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of present-day Assam and Bangladesh in the east, and the uplands of the Deccan plateau in south India.

The Mughal artistic tradition, mainly expressed in painted miniatures, as well as small luxury objects, was eclectic, borrowing from Iranian, Indian, Chinese and Renaissance European stylistic and thematic elements. Mughal emperors often took in Iranian bookbinders, illustrators, painters and calligraphers from the Safavid court due to the commonalities of their Timurid styles, and due to the Mughal affinity for Iranian art and calligraphy. Miniatures commissioned by the Mughal emperors initially focused on large projects illustrating books with eventful historical scenes and court life, but later included more single images for albums, with portraits and animal paintings displaying a profound appreciation for the serenity and beauty of the natural world. For example, Emperor Jahangir (reigned 1605-1627) commissioned brilliant artists such as Ustad Mansur (active 1590-1624) to realistically portray unusual flora and fauna throughout the empire.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related miniature painting of a lion at rest, dated ca. 1585 and attributed as “one of the early works of Mansur”, 20.3 x 15.2 cm, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1985.221.