Bichitr

c. 1620 C.E.

Watercolor, gold, and ink on paper

Arab, North Africa, or Near East Abbasid

c. eighth to ninth century C.E.

Ink, color, and gold on parchment

The image has two borders: the outermost border is made up of colorful floral and vegital motifs. The innermost border is a more uniform monochrome blue, made up of a repeating pattern of floral and vegital designs.

Bichtr was a favored artist of the Mughal court because of his proficiency in portraiture and impressive rendering of hands. This piece was intended to show the religious orientation of Jahangir and his preference for Sufism and Sufi Shaikhs. It also shows the hierarchy of world leaders as seen by the Mughals, with Muslim and spiritual leaders shown as more important. This work also reflects Western influence in its inclusion of King James and cherub-like figures that can be seen in many European art works. King James's rendering mimics English portraits and shows England's involvement in Indian politics at the time.

Surah illustrations appear in gold, these are illustrations that utilize calligraphy, calligraphy becomes its own art. This is Surah 29, which states that anyone who follows a deity other than Allah is like a spider that builds a flimsy home.

At this time, the Qu'ran, Which means "recitation," was meant to be memorized so this text acted more as a mnemonic device than a text that was meant to be read. Many people would probably have used it as once as well, so text had to be clear enough to read from afar. Ornamentation and rare materials shows wealth and power of the patron. Calligraphy was also extremely prized in Islam, only the best calligraphy artists could work on a Qu'ran.

Qu'rans were compiled in the mid-seventh century but were rarely written down, the oldest surviving Qu'ran is from the ninth century.

(Kanagawa Oki Nami Ura)

Also known as the Great Wave,

From the series thirty-six views of

Mount Fuji

Katsushika Hokusai

1830-1833 C.E.

Polychrome woodblock print;

Ink and color on paper

(Kanagawa Oki Nami Ura)

Also known as the Great Wave,

From the series thirty-six views of

Mount Fuji

Katsushika Hokusai

1830-1833 C.E.

Polychrome woodblock print;

Ink and color on paper