Aurangzeb
1650
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1650
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Aurangzeb is a 1650 paint by Unknown, a Baroque work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a rectangle of swirling black lines on a light gold background, framed by a thick blue border. Outside the frame, rows of small flowers in purple, green, and gold repeat across the light beige paper. The flowers look like lotuses, and the border has a repeating leafy pattern in blue and gold. The black lines inside the frame aren’t quite writing—they’re more like decorative swirls, almost like a storm or a dance. This style was common in South Asian art around this time. If you like this kind of intricate design, check out the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The artwork is a Mughal painting from around 1650, executed as an album page using opaque watercolour and gold on paper, with an accompanying calligraphy panel. It depicts Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor, and was originally part of an album later acquired from Lieutenant Colonel Murdoch Smith in Tehran. The piece was purchased for £25, with its provenance documented in museum records during a 2023 research project.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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