Friday, August 10, 2012

Asian Miniatures

Album of Indian/Mughal portraits and mythological scenes


sketch 8-armed Indian female figure with cobra, sword + umbrella on winged lion
(?)The Hindu Goddess, Durga



Asian Miniatures - portrait - sword



Asian Miniatures - portrait - Arabesque



Asian Miniatures - portrait - Arabesque (detail)



Asian Miniatures - portrait - swords



sub-continent watercolour sketch of mongol emperor
Aurangzeb, 6th Mughal Emperor (Abul Muzaffar Muhiu 'd-Din Muhammad)



gouache portrait, India 1600s



Asian Miniatures - portrait - flower



Asian Miniatures - portrait - jewel



Asian Miniatures - portrait



Asian Miniatures - portrait - (winged horse)


{all these images have been spliced together from screenshots and were
very lightly cleaned in the background of spots and library stamps}


A small, unnamed ~18th century album of pencil and watercolour sketches is hosted online among the prints and photographs in Gallica, the digitised collection at Bibliothèque nationale de France.

The subjects - Mughal emperors and Hindu gods - originate in the Indian subcontinent, and the BNF assesses the date range of the drawings at between the early 1600s and late 1700s (ie. they don't know). It seems likely that more than one artist was involved and a few of the works were never taken much further than the preliminary sketch stage. About the only thing known for certain is that this album was once owned by 19th century French polymath Egyptologist, Émile Prisse d'Avennes, whose works have been featured here previously: Classical Egypt & L'Art Arabe.

Also previously, and more on point: Mughal Royal Lineage & Memoirs of Babur || India

Mughal Empire article at Wikipedia.

Monday, August 06, 2012

The Trogons

Hand-coloured lithographic plates of Trogon
bird species from the 1830s by John Gould



1830s ornithological lithograph by John Gould
Trogon narina (Narina Trogon)




1830s ornithological illustration by John Gould
Trogon reinwardtii (Reinwardt's Trogon)




T1830s ornithological lithograph by John Gould
Trogon variegatus (Purple-breasted Trogon)





1830s bird lithograph by John Gould
Trogon temnuris (Cuba Trogon)




19th century ornithological lithograph by John Gould
Trogon oreskios (Mountain Trogon)




bird illustration hand-coloured
Trogon neoxenus (Welcome Trogon)




1830s ornithological book illustration by John Gould
Trogon mexicanus (Mexican Trogon)




hand-coloured book illustration by John Gould of Trogon bird species
Trogon meridionalis (Little Trogon)




T1830s ornithological lithograph by John Gould
Trogon melanopterus (Black-winged Trogon)




19th cent. lithographic bird plate
Trogon massena (Prince Massena's Trogon)




bird lithograph 1830s, coloured by hand
Trogon gigas (Giant Trogon)




1830s ornithological lithograph by John Gould
Trogon erythrocephalus (Red-headed Trogon)




1830s ornithological book illustration by John Gould
Trogon elegans (Graceful Trogon)




1830s bird lithograph by J gould
Trogon diardii (Diard's Trogon)




Trogon species illustration 1830s natural history book
Trogon citreolus (Lemon-breasted Trogon)




1830s ornithological plate from science book by John Gould
Trogon atricollis (Black-throated Trogon)




1830s ornithological book lithograph by John Gould
Trogon ardens (Rosy-breasted Trogon)



'A monograph of the Trogonidae or Family of the Trogons' (1838) was written and illustrated by taxidermist-come-naturalist and artist, the great John Gould, and is made available online by BPU Neuchâtel through the auspices of the Swiss library platform of e-Rara.

Previously: Gould Hummingbirds (Addit: also see Cardiff U) and, tangentially, The Parrots. Also: science!

Elsewhere: @BibliOdyssey & Pinboard.

{The images above have all been slightly spot-cleaned in the backgrounds}

 
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