'Private pleasures' of the Mugal Empire

• Autores: Imma Ramos
• Localización: Art history: journal of the Association of Art Historians, ISSN 0141-6790, Vol. 37, Nº. 3, 2014, págs. 408-427
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • In central India, between 1687 and 1698, Maharaja Anup Singh of Bikaner commissiones the master painter of his atelier, Ruknuddin, to paint an extraordinary series of miniatures representing key players of the Mughal Empire, from emperors including Akbar and Aurangzeb, to Rajput "mansabdars" or imperial officials including himself. Previously dismissed as a 'malicious' and satirical treatment of these well-known public figures, this essay argues that these paintings in fact demonstrate Anup Singh's desire to align himself with representatives of the Mughal Empire, whose power is symbolized by their virility. An analysis of two pertinent courtly texts, the sixteenth-century "Ananga Ranga" ('Stage of Love') by Kalyana Malla, and Muhammad Baquir's "Najm-i Sani Mau'izah-i Jahangiri" ('Admonition of Jahangir', c. 1612) demonstrates the relationship between erotica and Empire, which was infused with sophisticated humour in the series, resonating attractively with Mughal as well as Rajput viewers.