A STUDY OF A PURPLE DOUBLE-FLOWERED POPPY, INDIA, MUGHAL, DECCAN OR POSSIBLY KISHANGARH, 17TH CENTURY

11.5 by 21 cm.

CATALOGUE NOTE
This exquisite floral study depicts a double-flowered poppy (Papaver somniferum lacinatum), also known as a feathered poppy or a fringed poppy. It is characterised by a multitude of fine serrated and folded petals tightly clustered in the head. The artist has rendered the flower with breathtaking, almost hyper-naturalistic detail, with delicate and accurate articulation not only of the multitude of individual filaments of the purple petals, but also of the hair-like trichomes on the stem.

This study reflects the interesting and hybrid nature of flower painting in the 17th century, which blends the precision and detail of Mughal and

Deccani miniature painting with influence and iconography from European prints and florilegia. In the Mughal context, there are many flower studies of the second quarter of the 17th century that relate to the present work, such as those in the Dara Shikoh Album and several other studies (Falk and Archer 1981, pp.384, 391, 394-9; Stronge 2010, ppls.99-100, pp.135-6). Other related examples which exhibit a slightly stiffer style include an album in the Bibliothèque National, Paris (see Hurel 2010, no.44, pp.77) and three examples formerly in the Howard Hodgkin collection (see Topsfield 2012, nos.26-28, pp.74-75). Related floral designs also appeared in textiles and architecture, and a very close comparison is found in the Tomb of Itimad al-Daula at Agra (1620s), specifically within the Chamber of Mirza Ghiyas Beg (Itimad al-Daula) and Asmat Begum. A similar work from the same series was sold successfully for 82,550 GBP at SOTHBEY’S October 25 sale of the Islamic and Indian art sale..LOT NO 25 .