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    My favorite artworks from European Museums

    My favorite artworks from European Museums

    Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

    Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

    Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

    Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

    Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

    Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

    Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

    Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

    Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

    Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

    The Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest

    St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

    St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

    The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

    The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

    Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

    Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

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      My favorite artworks from European Museums

      My favorite artworks from European Museums

      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

      Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

      Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

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      Elephants via some Paintings of the Mughal Era

      inMedieval Indian History, Our Cultural Heritage
      0

      A thread started on twitter on elephants has fascinated me and I am posting some of the paintings from there.

      Elephants were an important part of Mughal life and were used in war, entertainment ( elephant fights, shikar), punishment( crushing to death) and travelling or simply for pomp and show.
      In Akbarnama Abul Fazl writes
      ” When India was made illustrious by his blessed advent he gave special attention to elephants, which are wonderful animals both in form and in ways. If in respect of size I liken them to a mountain in order to describe them to those who have not seen them, I do not succeed in my attempt, for where is account taken of their beauty of form, and where is their swiftness? Or if I liken their speed and fury to the wind, how is their wrath depicted at the time of their o’erthrowing the firm-footed on the field of battle? If I compare them for foresight, intelligence, and sagacity to the horse, the real thing is not said. ”
      600px-Great_Mogul_And_His_Court_Returning_From_The_Great_Mosque_At_Delhi_India_-_Oil_Painting_by_American_Artist_Edwin_Lord_WeeksGreat Mogul And His Court Returning From The Great Mosque At Delhi India — Oil Painting by American Artist Edwin Lord Weeks
      image
      #Emperor Akbar r. 1556-1605 riding a mast (untamed/rogue) elephant from Akbarnama. Abul Fazl writes “the first elephant which H.M. the Shāhinshāh rode was called Dilsankār. The first mast elephant that H.M. the Shāhinshāh rode was called Damūdar, which H.M. had presented to Bairām Khãn. When H.M. the Shāhinshah was going from Delhi to Salīmgarha, which was on the bank of the Jumna, that elephant was tied under a tree by the roadside. As it possessed the virtue of steadiness the driver was, even in the height of its mast condition, taking cooked rice in his hand and putting it into the elephant’s mouth. H.M. was pleased with the good behaviour of the elephant, and went up to it, and getting upon a female elephant which they had tied by its side, mounted upon the neck of Damūdar. The first mast elephant which H.M. the Shāhin­shāh mounted upon, and engaged in battle with another mast elephant, was called Jhalpa. This was during the siege of Mānkot. After battle had been waged between these two monsters for a long time the contest ended, like a game of chess,* in a draw, and they were separated. At that auspicious time H.M’s age had reached fourteen years. After this, the power of H.M. in riding mast elephants rose to such a pitch that that victory-supported one would unhesitatingly mount on a mast elephant which experienced drivers despairingly declined to ride (lit. placed the back of the hand on the ground of helplessness). And he would lead it against mast elephants, and without exaggeration he rode more than a hundred times on mast elephants which had killed their drivers and were men-slayers, and were capable of smiting a city or perturbing an army, and engaged them in fighting. May Almighty God preserve this eternally-aided one for cycles and epochs on the throne of success and of fulfilment of the desires of mortals!”
      akbar

      Akbar’s Adventure with the Elephant Hawa’i in 1561
      by Basawan and Chetar Munti (1590-95)$_35A Mughal Royal Lady travelling on an Elephant

      image
      #elephant Khushi Khan 1660

      The War Elephants Citranand and Udiya Collide in Battle-Akbarnama, 1567.
      800px-1573-Akbar_receiving_his_sons_at_Fathpur-Akbarnama1573-Akbar receiving his sons at Fatehpur-Akbarnama
      image
      Portrait of an #Elephant with 2 distinguished riders Sultan Abdullah Qutub Shah & his PrimeMinister
      image

      By Bichitr. Met. Museum of Art.
      This elephant was called Gajraj as is mentioned in Jahangir’s own handwriting given in painting
      image
      This #elephant was probably in the imperial use and was commissioned by #Shahjahan c.1640

      image
      1602 AD Prince Salim (Emperor Jahangir) returns on an elephant from a hunt
      image
      “Prince Aurangzeb riding against the maddened War elephant Sudhakar in the year 1633.”
      image
      Mawla baksh the royal elephant in the war of 1857, favourite of Bahadur Shah

      image
      Elephant Combat. Hada master. 1610-20.
      image
      Mahabir Deb1630 noted painter in ShahJahan’s reign , DaraShikoh riding an elephant
      image
      This Emperor Akbar on fierce Hawa,pursuing equally ferocious Ran Bagha,across a bridge of boats over Jumna,1586-89 V&A museum
      image
      On this #elephant is riding #Akbar the Great, ‘nim qalam’, minimalist wash #gold c1600 unknown artist, #Lucknow V&A
      image
      This is Akbar II with his son Prince Saleem in a Company Painting c1821 now at V&A
      image
      This #elephant though from the Mughal stables,probably a working beast. c.18th Murshidabad now at V&A
      image
      Many #Mughal ladies were accomplished artists, Khursheed Banu was one of them. She painted this in c.1600
      image
      This #Elephant is without the usual trappings of the imperial,though must be 4 royal Mughal’s use c.1650
      image
      This #Elephant was probably commissioned by Shahjahan in c.1650-60 most probably by Chand at Ashmolean Museum
      image
      Nainsukh: Muhammad Shah’s Elephant Fight
      image
      Nainsukh : The elephant fight close upPc0160700

      shikar440px-Padshanama_elephants_detailMughal infantry and Mahut‘s in action.440px-Elephant_in_BattleAn elephant in war

      Two_elephants_carrying_the_fish_and_sun_insignia_of_Mughal_sovereigntyA ceremonial procession On the occasion of Eid : Two elephants carrying the fish and sun insignia of Mughal sovereigntyOne_of_six_figures_from_the_Mughal_emperor's_ceremonial_procession_on_the_occasion_of_the_Id.a green standard with a gold sun

      and finally the most gruesome form of the elephant in Mughal eraCrushed_by_elephant

      akbar

      I am grateful for the tweets on this subject by @Sree_tweets@ambrin_hayat@DalrympleWill@WhiteMughalsFan @razvinama and @jamaljafri

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      Rana Safvi

      Come, explore and fall in love the Beauties of Delhi (Dilli ki Ranaiya’n) and the World with me, Rana Safvi

      I have a masters in medieval history from the prestigious Centre for Advanced Studies, Dept. of History, AMU. A firm believer in our Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb, I am passionate about gaining and sharing knowledge and these days I am doing it via the social media platform.

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      © 2018 Rana Safvi - A blog Exploring Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb of India, website handcrafted by Abu Sufiyan.