Artistic and historic importance of Indian Miniatures

London based Francesca Galloway hosts an exhibition of Indian Miniatures from the James Ivory collection (4th November - 17th December).

Francesca Galloway has been dealing in courtly Indian art and Islamic textiles and costume since 1974. She was initially a director of Spink & Son until she set up her own business in 1992. Since then, she has become well known for handling the best Indian paintings and helping to form several major collections in this area. Her other passion is European textiles. Over the last 20 years, she has collected and pioneered interest in Post War British textiles.

There are three sixteenth century paintings in the collection, The first of these is from a series illustrating the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana, Its style is known as the Early Rajput style. It is found in primitive form in eastern India as early as 1491 and is also found in northern and other parts of western India as well as the Punjab Hills.

The concept of paintings illustrating stories rather than iconography was perhaps awakened in the Hindu mind by the influence of Sultanate painting, i.e. painting illustrating Persian texts at the courts of pre-Mughal Muslim Sultans, but there is little if any stylistic influence.

The development of this new style broadly coincided with the establishment of the Mughal dynasty in India in 1526 by the cultivated Timurid ruler Babur. Akbar’s (1556–1605) rapid expansion of Mughal power over neighbouring sultanates and the Hindu kingdoms of Rajasthan was accompanied by an equally rapid development in the arts and especially painting.

Paintings from Mewar form one of the most important groups in this collection. The James Ivory collection also throws some interesting light on styles allied to that of Mewar. The Mewar school was influential far beyond its borders, particularly in southern Rajasthan and Gujarat. The great shrine at Nathdwara in northern Mewar dedicated to Krishna as Srinathji had its own artistic style.

The fabulous Indian Miniatures from the James Ivory collection are worth a look for their artistic and historic importance.