Falcon

17th century

This falcon is naturalistically rendered with its head in profile and its body positioned so that individual feathers are discernible. The bird grips a perch that was not completed by the artist—only a faint outline remains. The plain background allows for a more careful study of the falcon’s distinctive features. As exemplified by this painting, the close observation of flora and fauna was a popular genre of painting that flourished under the court of Mughal ruler Jahangir (1605–27) and in the neighboring court of the Punjab Hills (Pahari).

Opaque watercolor and ink on paper

12 3/16 x 6 3/4 in. (30.9 x 17.2 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

57.79

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Images of Power, 1986-1987.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Bird Sanctuary, Aug. 17, 1995 - Feb. 11, 1996.

Paris, France, Fondation Cartier pour l'art Contemporain, Comme Un Oiseau, June 14 - Oct. 13, 1996.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing [on view July 16 - Dec. 5, 2021].

Published ReferencesSeyller, John and Jagdish Mittal. "Pahari Paintings: In the Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian Art." Hyderabad: Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian Art, 2014, pp. 158 - 160, illus. p. 163, fig. 10

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