Botanical Painting: Composite Flower

ca. 1630

Not on view

This painting of a fantastical, composite plant is one of three in a series, the others of which include Geranium and Dianthus. These works, with their matching blue and gold border, were mounted together in a now-dispersed royal album. The paintings themselves are typical of the botanical style that were created in the Mughal court, and yet this work is distinct in that it does not illustrate a real plant, but rather the artist has creatively combined the leaves, stem, and flowers of various plants to create an invented, hybrid form.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Botanical Painting: Composite Flower
Date: ca. 1630
Geography: Country of Origin India
Medium: Opaque color on paper
Dimensions: Image: 6 11/16 × 3 15/16 in. (17 × 10 cm)
Frame: 10 13/16 × 8 1/4 × 11/16 in. (27.5 × 21 × 1.7 cm)
Classification: Codices
Credit Line: Howard Hodgkin Collection, Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions, Harris Brisbane Dick, and 2020 Benefit Funds; Howard S. and Nancy Marks, Lila Acheson Wallace, and Friends of Islamic Art Gifts; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and funds from various donors, 2022
Object Number: 2022.191
Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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"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
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