Mughal Tiles

8

HEAD OF VAJRAPANI

Gandhara, 4th/5th century

heiGht: 9 cm Width: 6 cm depth: 8 cm

A stucco head of a male figure, carved with large rounded eyes, a wide nose and prominent moustache. He has fulsome cheeks which create creases just above his fine and thick facial hair. Remains of terracotta pigment can be seen to his fleshy face adding a further air of naturalism to an already portraitlike depiction. The expression on his modelled face is one of quiet determination. Above, an oval disc is attached to a band which secures his thick hair. The fuller face and prominent moustache suggest that he could be a representation of Vajrapani.

Vajrapani, means “Holder of the Vajra” and the original sculpture from which this head came from would probably have depicted him clutching his vajra (thunderbolt). Vajrapani is also considered the guardian of the Elixir of Life and was often worshipped as the Rain God, and a protector against snakes and snake bites.1 He is the personification of wisdom (prajna), which is conceived of as one half of the state of Buddhahood.2 He represents the power of all the Buddhas, the removal of obstacles, and the conquest of negativity through fierce determination, symbolised by the vajra he holds.3

This head of Vajrapani would probably have been part of a larger frieze, acting as an attendant flanking the Buddha to one side. Sculptures of Vajrapani carrying his vajra and standing next to the Buddha are illustrated in Sir John Marshall, The Buddhist Art of Gandhara: The Story of the Early School: Its Birth, Growth and Decline, 1960, pl. 38, fig. 61; pl. 40, fig. 63; and pl. 42, fig. 66. A similar head can also be seen in Isao Kurita, Gandharan Art II: The World of The Buddha, 2003, p. 126, pl. 348.

References: 1. Meher McArthur, Reading Buddhist Art, 2002, p. 57. 2. Susan L. Huntington, The Art of Ancient India, 1985, p. 155. 3. Meher McArthur, Reading Buddhist Art, 2002, p. 57.

9 10 11

BODHISATTVA HEAD BODHISATTVA HEAD HEAD OF A BEARDED ASCETIC

Gandhara, 4th/5th century

heiGht: 8.2 cm Width: 6 cm depth: 6.5 cm

Gandhara, 4th/5th century

heiGht: 8.5 cm Width: 6 cm depth: 6.5 cm

Gandhara, 4th/5th century

heiGht: 8.3 cm Width: 6 cm depth: 10 cm

A pale brown stucco head of a male figure, possibly a bodhisattva, finely modelled and looking slightly to his left.

He has a rounded face, with deep-set and slightly bulging almond-shaped eyes, and stares out towards the viewer almost expressionless. He has a long, straight nose above a bowshaped mouth with full and rounded lips. His thick wavy hair is tied, plaited and secured with a band. A fan shaped bunch of hair rises above.

His hair is tied in such a way to indicate he is a bodhisattva, but the bulging eyes and fuller face perhaps suggest other possible attributions. This head demonstrates the concern of the later Gandharan artists with the naturalistic modelling of features in realistic detail.

For similar examples, see W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, Volume II, 1996, pp. 317-320. A pale off-white stucco head with traces of red pigment depicting a bodhisattva, finely modelled and looking slightly to his left.

He has a rounded face, with deep-set almond-shaped eyes, his mouth showing traces of a faint smile as he calmly looks at something out of view. He has a long, straight nose above a bow-shaped mouth with full and rounded lips. His thick wavy hair is tied and plaited, with large curls framing his face, the hair secured in a thick band with a decorative terracotta coloured rosette to the front.

For similar examples, see W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, Volume II, 1996, pp. 317-320. A dark yellow stucco head of a male figure, finely modelled and looking slightly to the left. He sports a spectacular voluminous moustache and wears a turban knotted at the front.

He has a fleshy oval face, with deepset and slightly bulging eyes, looking left as if disturbed by something. He has a short wide nose above a thick moustache which hides his mouth below. Flowing hair falls down to either side covering his ears, and above, a cloth turban covers his head, tied at the front in a large knot. Traces of pigment remain in places highlighting the face further. The head would have been part of a figure forming a scene depicting a story or jataka decorating the side of a temple or palace. He could possibly be an ascetic but any attribution cannot be conclusive.

For a similar figure, see Isao Kurita, Gandharan Art II: The Buddha’s Life Story, 2003, p.190, pl. 381.

12

SAZ LEAF AND SCROLLING VINES

northern india (muGhal, probably lahore or Kashmir), 17th century

tile panel: heiGht 20.4 cm Width 39.5 cm

each tile: heiGht: 20.4 cm Width: 19.7 cm

A pair of tiles in the cuerda seca technique with a design of two contrasting arabesque vines from which sprout stylised fl owers and leaves. The tiles are painted in rich, sumptuous glazes of warm orangey ochre, green, aubergine and cobalt blue heightened with accents of very pale lilac against a vibrant yellow ground. The main fi eld contains bold composite fl owers and leaves on an aubergine vine, languidly unfurling against the sunny yellow ground. This is surmounted by an integral border with a tautly sprung yellow vine on a green ground framed by orange borders, formally arranged and punctuated by delicate fl owers and leaves. The contrasting rhythms, colours and motifs of the two scrolling vines result in a delightful visual syncopation.

The superbly lyrical design begins in the tile on the left. A softly serrated saz leaf scrolls diagonally from the lower right corner of the tile on a vine that continues in a sweeping curve below the upper green border. The saz leaf is fi lled with a tier of fl ower buds along its central vein. To the left of the saz leaf is an elaborate fl oral spray composed of three fl owers on their stems infl uence, as do many of the other arts of the period. The range of colours is similar to the haft rangi (seven coloured) tiles of Safavid Persia, using the same range of colours that gave those of Persia their name, but applied with a characteristic Indian warmth of palette.

The use of the cuerda seca technique would also have been learnt from Safavid tile-makers. In this technique, the design is outlined on the fi red tile with a manganese purple pigment mixed with a greasy substance, which separates the areas to be coloured. These are then painted with a brush and the tile is fi red a second time. The greasy lines disappear, leaving a dark brownish outline separating the diff erent colours.1 Cuerda seca, literally meaning “dry cord” in Spanish, was developed during the latter part of the fourteenth century in Central Asia.

These magnifi cent Mughal tiles display the typical diversity of sources that make up Mughal art. Despite the Safavid and Ottoman infl uences, it was the Mughal love of fl oral motifs, in particular during the reign of Shah Jahan, which most profoundly infl uenced the designs of the period.

Mughal tiles with similar colours are in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, some of which can be seen on display at the Nehru Gallery.

surmounted by a tier of fl oral buds, also arranged on a curve. To the left edge is a large fl ower with radiating bi-coloured petals and pale lilac central veins. On the right edge, the design continues into the tile on the right with an inverted tiered fl oral spray with triple stems that straddles both the tiles.

This inverted fl oral spray is in turn mirrored on the opposite edge of the right tile with an identical inverted fl oral spray. The confronted fl oral sprays fl ank an overblown lotus to the centre with serrated orange petals, superimposed with a luxuriant pomegranate. The aubergine pomegranate is boldly outlined in yellow and rests on a serrated green calyx.

The saz leaf in this panel shows the infl uence of Ottoman designs. A Mughal tile with a similar design to the left tile but with a reverse design and the saz leaf sweeping diagonally to the right is in the David Collection, Copenhagen.

A Mughal tile in the British Museum with a saz leaf of similar Ottoman inspiration, within an arabesque of lotuses and split-leaf palmettes, is illustrated in Venetia Porter, Islamic Tiles, 1995, p. 91, fi g. 83.

The brilliant colours of Mughal tiles in this panel show an obvious Safavid

Reference: 1. See Robert Skelton et al, The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule, 1982, pp. 26-27, nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, for a discussion of Mughal tiles in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

13

FLOWERS AND BUDS ON SCROLLING VINES

northern india (muGhal, probably lahore or Kashmir), 17th century

heiGht: 19.5 cm Width: 12.3 cm

A tile in the cuerda seca technique painted in warm, mellow shades of green, orange and purplish cobalt blue against a buttery yellow ground, highlighted by white and crisply outlined by the dark manganese brown of the glaze technique. The distinctive narrow form of the tile and the relaxed symmetry of the vertically elongated composition, combine to present a charming scene of unfurling buds and justopening flowers.

The organic growth begins with a single saffron bud hanging pendant from the top of the tile, dangling from a leaf cluster into the bifurcated space between two addorsed blue flowers with softly serrated leaves on their contrastingly formal vines that resemble scrolling metalwork sconce brackets. The petals of the purplish blue flowers have white tips. This is the white slip with which the red earthenware body of the tile is coated before the glazes are applied. The technique is to apply the pigments just short of the petal edges, so that a white outline of slip is left as a frame, softening the petals with a delicate naturalism. The robust solidity of the petals evaporates, and in its place lingers the fragile fragrance of soft, gossamer blossoms.

The green stems emerge from an architectural element consisting of a horizontal cartouche punctuated by a pendant trefoil palmette. The strapwork cartouche introduces an architectural element and a hint of formal order into the floriated garden scene, as if nature is controlled in its abundance by the tending hand of the gardener, royal or divine. From the tip of the trefoil hangs a purple hyacinth. The architectural elements are flanked by hints of rebellious nature from the edges of the tile: simple green leaves and saffron buds with white outlines. The downward cascade of floral elements is met by the upward thrust of the serrated flowers and their stems, so that the tile is a balance of opposing forces that enliven the formal rigour of the design with the very sap of life itself.

This tile relates closely in design, colours, technique and stylistic treatment of the flowers and leaves, including the distinctive white outline of the petals, to a group of tiles in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London said to come from the tomb of the saint Shah Madani at But Kadal, Zabidal, near Srinagar in Kashmir. The tiles were acquired from Mr Frederick H. Andrews in 1923. He had been living in Srinagar, where he was the Director of the Technical Institute of Kashmir, and wrote to the museum in 1922 offering to sell his collection before he left that year to return to the United Kingdom. He said that the tiles were part of the decoration of the Madani mosque and tomb but the Victoria and Albert Museum believe that though the tiles were installed in a Kashmiri monument, they were probably made in Lahore.

The tiles at the tomb of Shah Madani show similarities of design and colour to the present example. According to Rosemary Crill, the tomb dates from the mid fifteenth century, but it was refurbished by a Mughal nobleman during the reign of Shah Jahan, when tiles in the cuerda seca technique were installed.1 Thirteen tiles from Shah Madani in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum were exhibited and published in Robert Skelton et al, The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule, 1982, pp. 26-27, no. 5.

A group of thirteen closely related Mughal tiles, also from Shah Madani, forming part of the donation of Jean et Krishnâ Riboud in the Musée Guimet, Paris, is published in Amina Okada, L’Inde des Princes: La donation et Jean et Krishnâ Riboud, 2000, pp. 128-133. The Riboud tiles at the Guimet have designs closely related to the present tile as well as to the group at the Victoria and Albert Museum, with white margins to the flowers and bicoloured treatment of leaves.

A cuerda seca tile at the British Museum in London is also clearly from the same group as it exemplifies characteristics of the Shah Madani tiles from both the other museum collections. Like our tile, it has a yellow ground and floral motifs with white edges emerging from a spiralling vine (1856,1216.1). This tile was given to the British Museum in 1856 by the artist William Carpenter, who travelled to and lived in India for six or seven years in the 1850s. The British Museum website informs us that this is one of three tiles found in Kashmir by Carpenter and acquired from him as a gift by the museum in 1856. This information corroborates the Kashmiri information provided to the Victoria and Albert Museum by Frederick Andrews and confirms the site of Shah Madani proposed by all the museums.

Reference: 1. See Robert Skelton et al, The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule, 1982, pp. 26-27, nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, for a discussion of Mughal tiles in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.