Recto: Animal portraits and India’s rich flora and fauna are the preeminent representations of the refined naturalism characterizing the pictorial arts of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628-58). This sensitive portrayal of a tethered Black Buck, attributed to circa 1640 and contemporaneous with the renowned Taj Mahal (1632-43), epitomizes the realistic portraiture of Mughal animal studies during Shah Jahan’s reign. Black Bucks, also known as the Indian Antelope (Antilope cervicapra), were favored animals for hunting and inclusion in the royal menagerie. They were also used to draw the carts carrying the trained cheetahs for the imperial hunts. Black Buck portraits were so popular among collectors that they were often copied in the later Mughal era during the 18th–19th centuries, as well as for the tourist trade in the 20th–21st centuries.
The Black Buck wears no jewelry or ornaments, as shown in some representations, and wears only a halter consisting of a noseband and crownpiece tied around the back of the head. He is tethered with a rope looped around a stake in the ground. That this is an individualized portrait of a Black Buck drawn from life, rather than a generic representation or later copy, is discernible because one of the Black Bucks’ spiraled horns is broken. This occasionally happened during hunting, territorial defense during the breeding season, and lekking rituals when the bucks would engage in competitive combat and courtship displays to entice females to mate. Generic and later portraits of Black Bucks typically depict two complete horns.
The Black Buck stands in a grassy field enlivened by floral sprays. The sky has thin veils of white and red cirrostratus clouds. The background behind the Black Buck was repainted dark brown in the 18th century. This was a common practice, especially in Lucknow. See Andrew Topsfield, ed., In the Realm of Gods and Kings: Arts of India (London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 2004), pp. 46-47, no. 11.
The Persian inscription in the upper border reads, āhū bahādur-i Shāh Jahān "Shahjahan’s Ahu [gazelle] Bahadur." (Translation by Wheeler M. Thackston.) It was likely added when the painting was mounted as a double-sided folio in the Deccani album.
Verso: This portrait of a Black Buck was remounted in the 19th century into an album made in the Deccan, the region in south central India with several Indo-Islamic kingdoms contemporary to the Mughals. It is presently backed with an exquisite painting of a flowering plant characteristic of Deccani floral studies. The plant is likely an imaginary creation partially based on a rose, as it has ovate leaves with serrated edges and pinnate venation, which is a common leaf form for roses. However, the large flowerhead differs in structure from that of roses, so it is probably a hybrid artistic creation. The overall meaning of the Persian inscription in the upper border is unclear, but it reads, sham chīrlīgh hazār. (Transcription by Wheeler M. Thackston.) It does not appear to be a recognizable botanical name and could be an idiosyncratic caption. See also AC1999.127.14.