"Prince Killing a Lion", Folio from the Davis Album
Calligrapher 'Ali Riza 'Abbasi Indian
Not on view
This dramatic scene depicts a prince stabbing a wounded lion as his horse sinks its teeth into the lion's neck. On the basis of the tightly wound turban with a thick bulge in front and a fanned end with flowers on a gold ground the painting can be dated to the 1690's or early eighteenth century. A signature would have appeared in the faintly visible cartouche beneath the horse's belly but it has faded into illegibility. It probably gives the name of the artist Shaykh ‘Abbasi who worked in this tinted drawing style with blue hills in the background. The bold nasta'liq calligraphy mounted above and below the painting is signed by 'Ali Riza 'Abbasi, who was the director of the library of Shah 'Abbas (r. 1587–1629).
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