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"Red-Headed Vulture and Long-Billed Vulture", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album

Painting by Mansur
Calligrapher Mir 'Ali Haravi
verso: ca. 1615–20; recto: ca. 1535–45
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 463
The artist Mansur became such a master in painting flora and fauna that he received the title nadir al-'asr, "rare one of the age." Ornithologically accurate, the vultures as revealed by the brush of Mansur are far more than avian specimens. His masterful hand is evident in the subtle gradations of sooty hues and pearly beige and gray shades of the feathers. The sketchy rock suggestive of ground plane and the linear outline of the half-toned rock are not an actual habitat but a plausible setting out of the artist’s imagination.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "Red-Headed Vulture and Long-Billed Vulture", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album
  • Artist: Painting by Mansur (active ca. 1589–1626)
  • Calligrapher: Mir 'Ali Haravi (died ca. 1550)
  • Date: verso: ca. 1615–20; recto: ca. 1535–45
  • Geography: Attributed to India
  • Medium: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
  • Dimensions: H. 15 3/8 in. (39.1 cm)
    W. 10 1/16 in. (25.6 cm)
  • Classification: Codices
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Rogers Fund and The Kevorkian Foundation Gift, 1955
  • Object Number: 55.121.10.12
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
"Great Hornbill", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album, Mansur, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
"Great Hornbill", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album
Painting by Mansur
Calligrapher Mir 'Ali Haravi
recto: ca. 1540; verso: ca. 1615–20
Flower-Style Box with Drawers, Wood (poplar); overlaid with ebony inlaid with wood and incised, stained ivory
Flower-Style Box with Drawers
17th century
"Akbar With Lion and Calf", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album, Govardhan, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
"Akbar With Lion and Calf", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album
Painting by Govardhan
Calligrapher Mir 'Ali Haravi
verso: ca. 1630; recto: ca. 1530–50
"Diving Dipper and Other Birds", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album, Mansur, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
"Diving Dipper and Other Birds", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album
Painting by Mansur
recto: ca. 1610–15; verso: ca. 1535–45
"Shah Jahan on a Terrace, Holding a Pendant Set With His Portrait", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album, Chitarman Indian, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
"Shah Jahan on a Terrace, Holding a Pendant Set With His Portrait", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album
Painted by Chitarman
recto: dated 1627–28; verso: ca. 1530–50

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