Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Visions of Mughal India: The Collection of Howard Hodgkin

(from 2nd Feb until 22nd Apr 2012)

Explore the remarkable collection of Indian paintings and drawings of the artist Howard Hodgkin.

Detail of Maharaja Dhiraj Singh riding, Raghugarh, India, c.1700 (Museum No: LI118.34)
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Mughal

The last and most powerful Islamic dynasty in India, the Mughal empire was founded in 1526 by the Central Asian prince Babur and consolidated from the 1560s by his dynamic grandson Akbar (r.1556-1605). The Mughal style of painting was also formed at this time, from an inspired synthesis of Persian miniature technique with vigorous local Indian styles and growing European naturalistic influences. Several of Howard Hodgkin’s Mughal pictures, beginning with the great Hamzanama series, belong to Akbar’s reign, when the energetic qualities brought by his newly enlisted Indian artists were at their strongest. Under the emperors Jahangir (1605-1627) and Shah Jahan (1627-1658), ruling from Agra, Lahore and Delhi, portraiture of rulers and courtiers replaced manuscript illustration as the dominant painting genre. As well as superb groups of elephant portraits and bird and flower studies, the Hodgkin collection contains outstanding and often unusual Mughal portraits and court scenes, from the mid-17th century to the last emperor Bahadur Shah, deposed by the British in 1858.

Manuscript illustrations

Mihrdukht aims her arrow at the ring (LI118.1) Mihrdukht aims her arrow at the ring (LI118.1)   Khwaja Umar saved from pursuers (LI118.100) Khwaja Umar saved from pursuers (LI118.100)   A supplicant at a Hindu temple (LI118.2) A supplicant at a Hindu temple (LI118.2)   Krishna dancing on the head of Kaliya (LI118.101) Krishna dancing on the head of Kaliya (LI118.101)
Hunter shooting a leopard (LI118.81) Hunter shooting a leopard (LI118.81)   Bad news arrives at court (LI118.94) Bad news arrives at court (LI118.94)
Rama's forest dwelling in Panchavati (LI118.12) Rama's forest dwelling in Panchavati (LI118.12)   The blind Dhritarashtra attacks the statue of Bhima (LI118.10) The blind Dhritarashtra attacks the statue of Bhima (LI118.10)   Attendants at an imperial durbar (LI118.14) Attendants at an imperial durbar (LI118.14)

Portraiture and court life

A prince riding an elephant in procession (LI118.26) A prince riding an elephant in procession (LI118.26)   Gathering of dervishes and drug addicts (LI118.102) Gathering of dervishes and drug addicts (LI118.102)   Nobleman smoking on a terrace (LI118.112) Nobleman smoking on a terrace (LI118.112)   Music party on a riverside terrace (LI118.21) Music party on a riverside terrace (LI118.21)
Head of the courtier Iltifat Khan (LI118.35) Head of the courtier Iltifat Khan (LI118.35)   Prince Aurangzeb (LI118.88) Prince Aurangzeb (LI118.88)   Prince Azam Shah enters Ahmedabad (LI118.22) Prince Azam Shah enters Ahmedabad (LI118.22)
Company officer receives noblemen on a terrace (LI118.27) Company officer receives noblemen on a terrace (LI118.27)   Durbar of Emperor Akbar Shah II (LI118.93) Durbar of Emperor Akbar Shah II (LI118.93)   The emperor Bahadur Shah (LI118.111) The emperor Bahadur Shah (LI118.111)

Elephants, birds, and flowers

Elephant and rider (LI118.56) Elephant and rider (LI118.56)   The elephant Khushi Khan (LI118.58) The elephant Khushi Khan (LI118.58)   Royal elephant with mahout (LI118.47) Royal elephant with mahout (LI118.47)
The elephant Ganesh Gaj and rider (LI118.55) The elephant Ganesh Gaj and rider (LI118.55)   Elephants fighting (LI118.97) Elephants fighting (LI118.97)   Elephant and keeper (LI118.46) Elephant and keeper (LI118.46)
Young elephant eating (LI118.48) Young elephant eating (LI118.48)   Two orioles (LI118.65) Two orioles (LI118.65)   Two myna birds (LI118.68) Two myna birds (LI118.68)   Two pigeons (LI118.92) Two pigeons (LI118.92)
Botanical study of a geranium (LI118.70) Botanical study of a geranium (LI118.70)   Botanical study of a carnation (LI118.71) Botanical study of a carnation (LI118.71)   Pink composite flower with leaves (LI118.72) Pink composite flower with leaves (LI118.72)   Sheet of flower studies (LI118.69) Sheet of flower studies (LI118.69)
Two panels with flower designs, possibly from a box (LI118.117) Two panels with flower designs, possibly from a box (LI118.117)
Notice

Objects from past exhibitions may have now returned to our stores or a lender. Click into an individual object record to confirm whether or not an object is currently on display. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis, so please contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular Eastern Art object.

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