This delightful parrot on a swing showcases a veritable rainbow of enameling. In addition to the delicate and rare pink enameling characteristic of Benares (Varanasi), it also features translucent dark green, opaque light green, opaque white, opaque yellow, opaque orange, opaque dark blue, opaque medium blue, opaque powder blue, and black enameling.
Varanasi’s sophisticated enameling traditions drew upon Mughal artistic antecedents, but its renowned pink enameling is traditionally thought to have been introduced through the Lucknow court during the reign of the enlightened art patron Nawab Asaf al-Daula (r. 1775–97) by the arrival from Kabul, Afghanistan of Kaisar Agha, who was likely familiar with the renowned pink enameling of the Iranian Qajar dynasty (1789-1925). Varanasi was a subordinate district of Awadh, the Mughal political region encompassing Lucknow. Pink enameling remained a specialty of Varanasi, although its use spread over time to Delhi and certain other locales in a limited manner.
Parrots and parakeets abound in India, with at least twelve known native species of parrots. They are popular pets and cultural characters because of their high intelligence and ability to mimic human speech. Their mythical ability as storytellers forms the core of several literary works, such as the 14th-century Persian Tutinama (Tales of a Parrot), which was illustrated in Mughal manuscripts, and the 12th-century Sanskrit Shukasaptati (Seventy Tales of the Parrot).
