THE DECCANI

SCHOOLS
(CIRCA 1560-1800 A.D.)
 Introduction & historical background:
• Less explored area of Indian miniature painting
• Geographically, Deccan is the plateau situated south of Vindhya mountain range
• Very sophisticated and elegant style of 16th and 17th cent.
• Termed Deccani style broadly
• Since Delhi was ruled by muslim sultan, period is termed as Sultanate Period
• official language Turki strong relation with Iran, Central Asia, Afghanistan
• initially the Deccani rulers were governors later became independent rulers and formed own states
• In 1347, Bahman Shah, an afghan revolted against Md. Bin Tughlaq and esblished the Bahmani dynasty
by end of 15th cent the Bahmani dynasty was disintegrated and the five powerful dynasties or sub-
sultanates emerged:
• Hussain Shahs of Ahmednagar
• Adil Shahs of Bijapur, Qutub Shahs of Golconda,
• Barid Shahs of Bidar and Imad Shahs of Berar
• Of which no painting tradition of Berar and Bidar survived
• The sub sultanates fought against each other and was united to fight
Vijayanagar in the battle of Talikota 1565
• Rulers of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golconda patronised art of
miniature painting
• The founders were of different racial identities
• All founders had good relationship with Safavids of Iran = painting
strong influence of Turkish and Persian
• Also occasional European influence, European paintings and prints
came via Portugese traders settled in and around Goa
• Known for paper karkhanas, paper makers kagjis of Daulatabad
produced excellent handmade papers
Genernal features of Deccani Painting
• Flourished in 16th and 17th cent. and had phase of sudden maturation,
prolonged stagnation and withered away in 18th and 19th cent.
• In the Deccan, painting continued to develop independently of the
Mughal style in the beginning. However, later in the 17th and 18th
centuries it was increasingly influenced by the Mughal style.
• Compared to Mughal paintings of 17th cent., historical events of hunts
etc, portraits less concerned with factual details
• Figures- dramatic- gestures & posses,
• Generally speaking, stylization, sensuous lyricism comparable to 16th
century Safavid tradition
• Dreamy atmosphere, background with flowering plants, excessive use
of gold, preference for pink and mauve colours and minimum modelling
are some Turkish and Persian traits.
• Stylistic characteristics from Vijayanagar empire was also borrowed,
such as luminous and rich palette, blossoming landscape, sharp contrast
of colours placed side by side and beautiful elongated figures
• Subject: majestic world of emperors, sufi saints, yoginis and passionate
world of idealized female beauties, literary works and elaborate
Ragamala sets
• Advantage of coastline in Deccan, prospered well, attracked, scholar,
saints, traders and soldiers: brought new flavours and vibrancy:
‘impossible, fantastic mood of mirage’
• Elements of fantasy pervaded even the landscape backgrounds
• Painter with extraordinary keenness arranged piles of rock and clusters of
foliage, sprinkled with blossoms of many hues
• Shining bends of rivulets were edged with flowering shrubs and overhanging
cloud patterns were touched with gold and silver
• Paintings signature, dates and inscription are rare
• Due to destruction and dispersal of princely collections illustrated manuscripts
as well as independent albums are ‘rarest of Indian schools today’
• Some masterpieces are mounted on elaborately decorated borders or hasiya
and can be found in Jahangir’s collection
1. AHMEDNAGAR: Late 16th cent.

• Sultan Ahmad Nizam Shah, the founder Ahmanid dynasty was a converted muslim was the founder of
this region
• The earliest examples of the Ahmednagar painting are contained in a Persian poem in eleven cantos,
written in praise of Hussain Nizam Shah I of Ahmednagar (1553-1565) and his chief queen, Khanzada
Humayun, whose beauty and character.
• Assigned to a period 1565-69, this manuscript of 'Tarif-in-Hussain Shahi’ is preserved in the
Bharat ltihas Samshodaka Mandala, Poona.
• There were, according to a note on the first page, originally fourteen paintings.
• The battle (of Talikota) and throne scenes are some the subjects illustrated.
• The book also contains some fair illumination.
• Contemporary of Hamzanama or Tutinama in the North of India.
• One of the illustrations depicts the king sitting on the throne and attended by a number of women. The
female type appearing in the painting belongs to the northern tradition of Malwa. The Choli (bodice) and
long pigtails braided and ending in a tassel are the northern costume. But the long scarf passing round
the body is in the southern fashion. The colours used in the painting being rich and brilliant are different
from those used in the northern paintings. The Persian influence can be seen in the high horizon, gold
sky and the landscape.
 • The miniature illustrates the Dohada theme, in which
a tree is made to blossom by a woman's embrace or
touch.
• Only a woman at once lovely and chaste could
successfully make this sensuous approach.
• This charming conceit is as old in Indian art as the
sculptures of Bharhut and Sanchi: it is used here as a
delicate compliment to the queen.
• The main charm of the picture lies in the palette, here
introduced for the first time, the blue ground and gold
sky and gold edging to the leaves contrasting vividly
with the orange, yellow and mauve-pink of the figures.
• The whites are cleverly handled to give movement to
the composition and sparkle to the women.
• The striped scarf with which the attendant fans the
queen - a ubiquitous feature in Deccan painting -
appears in the Malwa Nimat Namah.

A page from the TARIF-I-HUSAIN SHAHI. Ahmadnagar, 1565-9.

Bharata Itihasa Samshodhaka Mandala, Poona
Preparation of wada for the Sultan Ghiyath al-Din, the Sultan of
Mandu. Samosas being prepared. Small inscription 'sanbusa',
samosa. Ghiyath Shahi seated on a stool in a garden is being
offered a dish, possibly of samosas. A cook is frying them over
a stove, while another is placing them on a round dish. Opaque
watercolour. Sultanate style.

Title of Work: The Ni'matnama-i Nasir al-Din Shah. A

manuscript on Indian cookery and the preparation of
sweetmeats, spices etc., Mandu, 1495-1505.
50 miniatures in all.

In short called Nimatnama.

Another manuscript of this style is

Miftah-al-Fuzala (A Glossary of Rare Words)
Enjoyment of betel. Ghiyath Shahi is kneeling on a
stool, putting a betel chew in his mouth. There is a
night sky, and he is wearing white night clothes. Out
of doors with a background of heavy vegetation. A
woman attendant is holding a gold bowl of betel.
Wine flask in the foreground. A dark girl kneeling
before Ghiyath Shahi is offering him another betel
chew.
Aslo from Nimatnama.
Opaque watercolour.
Sultanate style.
Kavi Bilhana was an 11th-century Kashmiri poet. He is known
for his love poem, the Caurapañcāśikā.

• According to legend, the Brahman Bilhana fell in love with

the daughter of King Madanabhirama, Princess
Yaminipurnatilaka, and had a secretive love affair.
• They were discovered, and Bilhana was thrown into prison.
While awaiting judgement, he wrote the Caurapâñcâśikâ, a
fifty-stanza love poem, not knowing whether he would be
sent into exile or die on the gallows.
• It is unknown what fate Bilhana encountered. Nevertheless,
his poem was transmitted orally around India.
• There are several versions, including ones from South India
which had a happy ending; the Kashmiri version does not
specify what the outcome was.
• Some other fine examples of the Ahmednagar painting are the
"Hindola Raga" of about 1590 A.D. and portraits of Burhan Nizam
Shah II of Ahmednagar (1591-96 A.D.) and of Malik Amber of
about 1605 A.D. existing in the National Museum, New Delhi and
other museums.

• This picture, formerly in the Bikaner Collection, seems to be the

sole survivor of the set. They are a fine Kakubha Ragini and a
splendid fragment of a peacock in full flight against delicate
foliage. At the top of the picture is written in Devanagari
characters Vas (anta) and in Arabic characters Hindola Rag and
Vasant Ragini. The raga depicted is in fact the Vasanta, the
introduction of the swing (hindola) leading to the confusion of
titles.
• The young swarthy Spring wears a four-pointed coat. Its origin is
obscure, but it was the prevalent fashion at the court of Akbar,
and may have been adopted by him from Malwa.
• The distinctive feature of the women's costume is the projecting
transparent veil. This, which occurs first in the Malwa Nimat
Namah, was elaborated in the lovely series known as the
Chaurapanchasika Group, which was perhaps developed in its
classical form in Malwa or south Rajasthan during the second
half of the 16th century.
 2. BIJAPUR
• Founder Yusuf Adil Shah was connected to Ottoman state of Turkey
• A large number of paintings exist-help in finer analysis
• Sporadic efforts of book illustrations
• In Bijapur, painting was patronised by Ali Adil Shah I (1558-80 A.D.) and his successor
Ibrahim II (1580-1627 A.D.).
• Later was more passionate connoisseur, painter, calligrapher, musician and poet
• He reluctantly gave away his daughter to Akbar’s son Daniyal hence the opening decade
of 17th century created a congenial atmosphere for exchange between Mughal and
Bijapur painting tradition resulting in a cross fertilization was possible
• Ibrahim II (1580-1627 A.D.) was a musician and author of a book, the Naurasnama., on
the subject. It is believed that a number of the Ragamala paintings were commissioned
in various museums and private collections. A few contemporary portraits of Ibrahim II
are also available in several museums.
• An encyclopaedia known as the Najum-al-ulum (Stars of Sciences), preserved in the Chester
Beatty Library, Dublin, was illustrated in 1570 A.D., mentioned thrice, during the reign of Ali
Adil Shah I.
• A note, on page one, by a former owner states that the book was once the property of
Ibrahim II of Bijapur. Even if the value of this note, the date of which is uncertain, is
questioned, there can be no doubt of the southern influence on the style.
• In an enumeration of the one hundred and forty aspects of the earth, the spiritual forms of
the guardians of each are represented.
• This manuscript contains 876 miniatures.
• The ladies appearing in the illustrations are tall and slender and are wearing the South Indian
dress.
• This is apparent not only in the female type and costume but also in much decorative detail.
A frieze of lions and swans on a full-page illustration, for example, is in pure southern taste.
Several miniatures represent Hindu deities. On present evidence the provenance of the
Nujum al-Ulum may be accepted as the southern Deccan, probably Bijapur, though Golconda
is also a fair candidate since we know there were artists at the court of Ibrahim Qutb Shah
(1550-80).
• One of the miniatures illustrated here shows the "Throne of Prosperity".
• There is influence of the Lepakshi mural painting on the female types. The rich colour scheme,
the palm trees, animals and men and women all belong, to the Deccani tradition.
• The profuse use of gold colour, some flowering plants and arabesques on the top of the
throne are derived from the Persian tradition.
• A page from the NUJUM AL-ULUM. Bijapur, 1570. The Chester Beatty Library, Dublin
• A Yogini, Bijapur, 1640, V & A
Museum
• A female medicant, enveloped
in certain otherworldly
landscape, evoke a mood of
dizzying melancholy
• An increasing mughalization of
Bijapur school after 1630 be
credited to the Mughal who
were station in Deccan along
with poet, painters, musicians
and the administrative staffs
An inscription in a cartouche on the
mount of this miniature describes the
subject as Ali II Adil Shah (1656-72). It is
however a portrait of his predecessor
Muhammad, a younger son of Ibrahim
II, who came to the throne at the age of
fifteen. This is confirmed by a portrait
of Muhammad in a Divan of Urfi written
for him by Shah Muhammad Darabi at
the capital in 1637 (A.H.1046). Our
picture may be dated about 1640. A
third, full-length, portrait in the Prince
of Wales Museum of Western India is a
little later—about 1650.
The king holds a flower in his right
hand, and a mango in his left. The plain
green background is a common feature
in Mughal portraits of the Shah Jahan
period.
to the court. His angular features resemble those of Muhammad Qutb Shah as
we see him about the age of thirty in a fine Mughal copy of a Deccan portrait.
Muhammad was eighteen when he came to the throne. Our portrait shows him
soon after his accession and may be dated about 1612. He was then, in the
opinion of Floris, one of the first Dutch observers, "a yongman of great hope". His
reign was uneventful. He founded the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, and was, like
all his line, something of a poet.
The king is seated on his throne in a pavilion. He wears on his shoulders, in the
words of William Methwold, 'a loose white callico cloth, in use like our sommer
clokes". Three ambassadors present their credentials to the king. Below are four
richly caparisoned Arabian horses led by pages. We have a description of such an
embassy to Muhammad Quli from Shah Abbas of Persia in 1603, when valuable
gifts of jewels, carpets, velvets and horses were made. These horses were
especially prized in the Deccan. Methwold says: 'the king (of Golconda) sendeth
also an adventure (to Mocha), the proceed whereof is invested in Arabian horses,
which are returned not above sixe or eight in a shippe, whereof they make great
account; for in this countrey there is no race of good horses". One of the pages to
the right of the king is an Abyssinian: all three wear the Golconda girdle (patka).
All the figures affect long, wide straps on each side of the coat, in a contrasting
colour and often gold edged. This fashion, favoured at Golconda and Bijapur, is
not found at Ahmadnagar, where the straps are narrow and unobtrusive, like
those of Akbar's court.
The lavish display of gold plate and the curiously looped girdles of the pages are
also found in five excellent Golconda miniatures of about 1610 to 1620 inserted
in a Divan of Hafiz dated 1643.
 3. GOLCONDA
Early Deccani painting absorbed influences of the northern tradition of the pre-Mughal painting
which was flourishing in Malwa, and of the southern tradition of the Vijayanagar murals as evident
in the treatment of female types and costumes. Influence of the Persian painting is also observed
in the treatment of the horizon gold sky and landscape. The colours are rich and brilliant and are
different from those of the northern painting. Tradition of the early Deccani painting continued
long after the extinction of the Deccan Sultanates of Ahmednagar, Bijapur and Golconda.

Quli Qutub Shah was the ‘Black Sheep’ turkman prince

• The earliest paintings identified as Golconda work are a group of five charming paintings of
about 1590 A.D. in the British Museum, London, painted in the period of Muhammad Quli Quta
Shah (1580-1611) Golconda. They show dancing girls entertaining the company. One of the
miniatures illustrated shows the king in his court watching a dance performance. He wears the
white muslim coat with embroidered vertical band, a typical costume associated with the
Golconda court. Gold colour has been lavishly used in painting the architecture, costume,
jewellery and vessels etc.
• The subject and provenance of this enchanting picture are both uncertain. It is
possible that a pendant to the lady whispering to her talking bird was provided
by the 'Young Man holding a Parrot' in the Cowasji Jehangir Collection, of
brilliant colouring and perhaps of similar date. Both were probably favourites
or types of beauty which appealed to the patron's taste. That the lady is a
Yogini, as has been suggested, is unlikely. Basil Gray's suggestion that she may
be Balqis, the Queen of Sheba, is more attractive. It is certainly a subject which
would have taken the fancy of the Deccan rulers, and the lady is dark
complexioned.
The Cowasji Jehangir miniature carries on its mount an inscription referring to
the subject as a member of the Qutb Shah family. While this is late and carries
little weight, both pictures are distinctive variants of the early 17th-century
Deccan style. The exaggerated swirl of the girdle and stole suggests one of the
southern kingdoms. In this connection we may repeat an observation of
William Methwold, in charge of the English factory at the chief port
Masulipatam from 1618 to 1622, who says that the talented courtesans of
Golconda wore "about their neckes many chaines of small pearle and corall".
The lady also wears the four-pointed coat over her pyjama. The large flowers
on either side of the lady seem to be inspired by the painting on Chinese
porcelain, small parcels of which fetched high prices at Golconda according to
the Dutch merchants.
Another version of this picture (unpublished) is in the collection of Ramesvar
Rao, Rajah of Wanapurthy.
• Other outstanding examples of the Golconda painting are "Lady with the Myna
bird", about 1605 A.D. in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, an illustrated
manuscript of a Sufi poem (1605-15 A.D.) in the British Museum, London and a
couple of portraits showing a poet in a garden and an elegantly dressed young
man seated on a golden stool and reading a book, both signed by a certain
4. HYDERABAD

• Painting in Hyderabad started with the foundation of the Asafjhi dynasty by Mir
Qamruddin Khan (Chin Qulick Khan) Nizam-ul-Mulk in 1724 A.D. Influence of the
Mughal style of painting on the already existing early styles of Deccani paintings,
introduced by several Mughal painters who migrated to the Deccan during the period
of Aurangzeb and sought patronage there, was responsible for the development of
various styles of painting in the Deccan at Hyderabad and other centres. Distinctive
features of the Deccani paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries are observed in the
treatment of the ethnic types, costumes, jewellery, flora, fauna, landscape and colours.
• A miniature showing a princess in the company of maids is a typical example of the
Hyderabad school of painting. The princess is reclining on richly furnished terrace
covered with a canopy. The style of the painting is decorative. Typical characteristics of
the Hyderabad painting like the rich colours, the Deccani facial types and costumes can
be observed in the miniature. It belongs to the third quarter of the 18th century.
A Hyderabadi painting of a scene from the story of Kalila
and Dimna, 1700's
"BIDPAI: KALILA WA DIMNA, HYDERABAD, CENTRAL
INDIA, 18TH CENTURY. Poetry, Persian manuscript on gold-
sprinkled buff paper, 29ff. with 10ll. of black nasta'liq arranged
in two columns with double gold intercolumnar divisions,
margins in gold with black and blue rule, headings in red
nasta'liq, with 25 miniatures in gouache heightened with gold,
opening folio with gold and polychrome floral illumination, red
leather binding, fitted box."
"Shirin praying and Khusrau hunting," a Hyberabadi miniature
painting c.1720-40; from the collection of the Aga Khan
Museum

Hyderabad, the capital of Golconda, was a thriving centre for

the arts in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when a
confluence of international patrons and painters worked
together to create manuscripts of Hindu, Mughal and Persian
subjects, often illustrated in a flamboyantly eclectic style.
‘Khusrau hunting’ represents this style well. The subject is the
ever-popular one of a princely or kingly hunt as a
demonstration of the power and control over conquered lands.
The source of the illustration is taken from the Khamsa
(Quintet) of Nizami, the famous twelfth-century Persian poet.
In this version, Khusrau and his men exhibit a fascinating
combination of Safavid attributes in a flamboyant Hyderabad
painting style. The ruler’s men all wear late Safavid turbans and
some, including Khusrau, sport moustaches, à la Shah 'Abbas I
(r. 1587-1629 CE) and Shah 'Abbas II (r. 1642-66 CE), but the
colourful, eclectic palette of the painting - note the mint-green
landscape divided by mauve rock formations and lavish use of
gold - reflects Hyderabad style