- Title
- Felicitation of the Virgin and Child (recto), Calligraphy (verso)
- Date Made
- circa 1600 (recto); circa 1565 (verso)
- Medium
- Recto: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper; verso: ink and gold on paper
- Dimensions
- Image (recto): 7 3/8 x 4 3/4 in. (18.73 x 12.07 cm); Image (verso): 6 1/8 x 3 1/4 in. (15.56 x 8.26 cm); Sheet: 11 5/8 x 7 9/16 in. (29.53 x 19.21 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.83.105.5a-b
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
Kesu Khurd (Kesu the Younger) was a Mughal painter active in circa 1580-1600. He was primarily an illustrator and colorist for such Imperial manuscripts as the V&A Akbarnama (History of Akbar) of circa 1586-1587 (see M.78.9.6) and the Jami al-Tawarikh (History of the World) of 1596 (see M.78.9.8 and M.78.9.9). This drawing is one of his few individual works, several of which feature Christian subject matter, such as the signed and closely comparable Virgin and Child in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin (11A.19).
Recto: Images of the enthroned Virgin Mary and the Christ Child were often represented in Mughal paintings and drawings depicting Christian subjects, as well as in Goan ivories (see M.87.224). In this nim qalam (half-pen) lightly tinted drawing, which is a pastiche of motifs rather than a direct copying of a European work, the nimbate Virgin sits slightly off-center on a tall-backed chair with the Child supported on her left thigh. A woman waves a censor in front of them while numerous other women congregate around them holding books or liturgical objects. In the foreground, a woman grasps wine flasks from a small serving table. In the bottom right corner, a bearded European man walks jauntily while holding his hat and a cylindrical scroll case.
Verso: This page of nastaliq calligraphy was written by Mahmud ibn Ishaq al-Shihabi al-Haravi (Iran, active 16th century). It describes the ideal qualities of a calligrapher.
- Selected Bibliography
- Larson, Gerald et al. In Her Image: The Great Goddess in Indian Asia and the Madonna in Christian Culture. Santa Barbara: UCSB Art Museum, University of California, 1980.
- Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Painting, vol.1. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1993.
- Rosenfield, John. The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1966.
- Trabold, J. The Art of India, An Historical Profile. Northridge, CA: California State University Press, 1975.