An Encounter of a Shah or Prince and a Cavalier
Location: Khalili Collection, London.. Formerly in the Kraus Collection, New York.
Page: 34.5 x 22.3cm.(after Grube)
Painting: 8.5 x 15.0 cm. (after Grube)
Text area: not known
Signature: not signed
The only known reproduction of this miniature is in the Kraus catalog, and shows only two lines of the accompanying text which mentions no names at all. The iconography, or lack thereof, of the painting, lends little to the identification of the scene represented.
The illustration is a narrow horizontal rectangle. Two mounted individuals are portrayed facing each other, in large scale near the center. The one on the right, seated on a white horse, may, by virtue of his crown adossed with feathers, be identified as a shåh or lesser royal personage. The other one, astride a dark horse to the left, can similarly be identified from his apparel and gesture as a warrior of lesser rank: he wears a pointed steel helmet, quivers on his belt, and raises his arms in supplication before the royal personage. Three other figures are depicted in the scene, two on the far right, and one on the left, accompanying their respective leaders. Two wear steel helmuts, the other a turban. A hill in the background, which rises beyond the frame into the upper margin, is the only landscape element.
Painting references:
Grube, Kraus, no.171 (illustrated).
Photo after Grube
Robert Eng
Last Updated: January 2, 2016| Originally published: January 2, 2016
