The Devi is in the centre and around it seem to be kings in Timurid dress. But i doubt they would have depicted Mughal Emperors alongside the Devi. Are the figures Marathas with a Chattra?

My take:

All the iconography outside the inner circle looks very Muslim to me. Maybe its an outlier in the artistic tradition?

Theres certainly mughal kings around Hindu deities in other art. For example infamous painting of Somaprabha and a celestial nymph listening to music. From the Kathasaritsagara. In this piece the kings observe them from the sidelines.

They also seem to be creating a halo behind each figure which Muslims borrowed from the Christian tradition. And that seems to be the case for the devi too! The combination of the three makes me think it just has to be the mughals.

But i certainly can’t recognise them as any of the famous mughals, perhaps some of the lesser depicted people? Perhaps fictional or historical characters. They loved the hamzanama for example. (Although I don’t think these are characters from the hamzanama obviously.)

It seems to me to be squarely in the tradition of visual statements of syncretic legitimacy.

Maybe they aren’t portraits of specific emperors. By the 19th century, “Mughal-style noble” was a generic emblem of rulership — much like how European painters used “Roman togas” for abstract virtues.

The artist likely composed idealized “kings” paying homage to the Devi.

The more I think the more options I see with little certainty of what’s right.

  • bad_news
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    5 days ago

    What’s the provenance here? This feels giftshoppy to me…