Goshawk Drinking
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.The ancestry of falconry, a sport much favored by Indian rulers, can be traced back to the seminomadic peoples of Central Asia. As expressed in Hindu court painting, this vogue is directly attributable to the fashion established by the Mughal courts. The refined hunting abilities of predatory birds, such as their strength and speed in striking prey, were qualities much admired in the martial culture of the Hindu courts. Rajput and Pahari rulers recorded their most beloved animal—birds of prey as well as elephants and stallions—in paintings, both for enjoyment and to chronicle the accoutrements of their reign.Here, we see a royal trained bird of prey, identifiable as the powerful goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), perched on the rim of a Chinese blue-and-white porcelain bowl, from which he is drinking.
Artwork Details
- Title: Goshawk Drinking
- Date: ca. 1730
- Culture: India, Himachal Pradesh, Mandi
- Medium: Opaque watercolor with gold and silver on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 4 3/4 × 7 in. (12.1 × 17.8 cm)
Framed: 9 3/4 × 12 × 7/8 in. (24.8 × 30.5 × 2.2 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: The Howard Hodgkin Collection, on loan from the Howard Hodgkin Indian Collection Trust
- Object Number: L.2022.30.11
- Rights and Reproduction: Photo © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art