Indian sculpture and painting, illustrated by typical masterpieces, with an explanation of their motives and ideals . portraits,and sometimes from the artists own imagination,was part of the stock-in-trade of an Indianminiature painter. The exquisite coloured drawing of Jahangirstime, inscribed, A portraitofSadi of Shiraz (MayGod sanctify his tomb !), belongs to this visited India in the first half of the thir-teenth century, and it is possible that his portraitmay have been drawn by Indian artists of thattime ; or a contemporary portrait by Persian artistsmay have existed in Jahang
Indian sculpture and painting, illustrated by typical masterpieces, with an explanation of their motives and ideals . portraits,and sometimes from the artists own imagination,was part of the stock-in-trade of an Indianminiature painter. The exquisite coloured drawing of Jahangirstime, inscribed, A portraitofSadi of Shiraz (MayGod sanctify his tomb !), belongs to this visited India in the first half of the thir-teenth century, and it is possible that his portraitmay have been drawn by Indian artists of thattime ; or a contemporary portrait by Persian artistsmay have existed in Jahangirs collection. Thisdrawing, however, is not a mere copy, but a mostcareful study from life, founded on a recognisedtraditional type known to the Mogul one of Jahangirs court poets served asa model. It gives a very convincing presentment of thefamous Persian poet: a pose full of dignity, and aface which shows great force of character. We canrealise his adventurous life, which he tells in his Gulistin : how he travelled through Northern PtATE LX A ppi^yj^^ MAL^ SON QF AJVfAR -SINGH. A PORTRAIT OF SADI 211 India and Africa, Abyssinia, Central Asia, Syriaand Arabia in true dervish fashion, in all sorts of ways, andmixing with all sorts of people. Stumbling afterthe Pilgrims Caravan through the burning desertsof Arabia, now bandying jests with a fine technicalflavour of grammatical terminology with school-boys of Kashghar, now a prisoner in the handsof the Franks, condemned to hard labour in thecompany of Jews in the Syrian town of Tripoli,now engaged in investigating the mechanism of awonder-working Hindoo idol in the temple of Som-nath, and saving his life by killing the custodianwho discovered him engaged in this pursuit. ^ Whether it was an authentic likeness of Sadimay be open to doubt, but it is certainly a fineconception of the hardy old poet, and a splendidstudy of life and character, carried out with suchconsummate mastery of technique and ex
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubject, booksubjectpainting
