Indian. Portraits of Two Scribes Seated with Books and Writing Table Amid Gold Flowers, Section of a Margin of a Royal Album Page, ca. 1640–1650. Watercolor and gold on paper, 2 x 9 5/8in. (5.1 x 24.4cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.227.153 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.227.153_IMLS_SL2.jpg)
Indian. Portraits of Two Scribes Seated with Books and Writing Table Amid Gold Flowers, Section of a Margin of a Royal Album Page, ca. 1640–1650. Watercolor and gold on paper, 2 x 9 5/8in. (5.1 x 24.4cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.227.153 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.227.153_acetate_bw.jpg)
Portraits of Two Scribes Seated with Books and Writing Table Amid Gold Flowers, Section of a Margin of a Royal Album Page
Asian Art
These exquisitely painted figures once appeared on the margins of a painting in an album made for the emperor Shah Jahan (the ruler who built the Taj Mahal). Illuminated borders were frequently used in royal albums, where they served to frame and protect a wide array of cherished paintings and calligraphies. The two seated men in this margin are either scribes or librarians: the man on the left with an open book in front of him is reciting to the man seated in the center. At the far right is a low desk with a cup, pens, and decorated manuscript pages. We do not know the location of the painting that this margin once framed. Perhaps it was damaged and only this element could be salvaged, or perhaps it was taken apart and sold in several pieces.
CULTURE
Indian
MEDIUM
Watercolor and gold on paper
DATES
ca. 1640–1650
DYNASTY
Mughal
DIMENSIONS
2 x 9 5/8in. (5.1 x 24.4cm)
Other: 14 1/4 x 19 1/4in. (36.2 x 48.9cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Asian Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
86.227.153
CREDIT LINE
Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Indian. Portraits of Two Scribes Seated with Books and Writing Table Amid Gold Flowers, Section of a Margin of a Royal Album Page, ca. 1640–1650. Watercolor and gold on paper, 2 x 9 5/8in. (5.1 x 24.4cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.227.153 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.227.153_IMLS_SL2.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 86.227.153_IMLS_SL2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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