Golconda in art : images of royalty

       Golconda was one among the Sultanates of the Deccan during 16th -18th century India. Known all over the world for its fortifications, big arsenals, ruined palaces, gardens, fountains, pools, mosques and terraces and leader in diamond trade with expertise in cutting an polishing the stone; as it was available in the mines in the bed of the river Krishna. The hill fortress at a height of 400 feet above the ground, housed the king's soldiers, harem, treasury, courtiers and followers. The area within the fort also housed a population which grew too large and a new capital for the kingdom was made at Hyderabad by Sultan Mohammad Quli in 1591.

The kingdom extended over the Southern peninsula starting from the Godavari river upto the Cape Comorin and up to the Indian Ocean in the east.

The art of the Golconda kingdom and some of it's representations are elucidated for an idea of the art of the Golconda and Hyderabad school of Deccani painting. 

Deccani painting evolved when the Deccan Sultanates namely, Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golconda started producing paintings of great quality. There was a strong Persian influence on their art. However their art was distinct and has earned itself a unique place in the history of Indian painting. Deccani paintings were not dated or inscribed with the name of the painter as the Mughal ones. 

  Coming to the subject at hand, namely Golconda, it can be said that the Persianate character of their painting can be attributed to the fact that the first king, Sultan Quli had migrated from Persia to Bidar in 1478. The Qutub Shahis maintained close ties; which included matrimony with the Safavids and patronised poets and painters from Persia.

The typicality of Golconda paintings lies in its opulence and vitality which has an Indian flavour of richness.

Portrait, Sultan Abdullah Qutub Shah of Golconda.

By Unknown - [flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/thesandiegomuseumofartcollection/6125086876/in/photostream/], CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24570593

      The Kulliyat-e- Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah , a collection of the Sultan's poetry contains many illustrations which depict the Golconda school of painting. Iridiscent colours including bluish-purple, salmon-red,pricked gold surfaces are typically Golconda style.There are other astonishing and splendorous  examples too.

Illuminated Manuscript of the History of the Qutb Shahi Sultans of Golconda LACMA , 17th century.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AIlluminated_Manuscript_of_the_History_of_the_Qutb_Shahi_Sultans_of_Golconda_LACMA_M.89.159.4_(2_of_5).jpg
See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Illuminated Manuscript of the History of the Qutb Shahi Sultans of Golconda LACMA , 17th century.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AIlluminated_Manuscript_of_the_History_of_the_Qutb_Shahi_Sultans_of_Golconda_LACMA_M.89.159.4_(3_of_5).jpgSee page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Illuminated Manuscript of the History of the Qutb Shahi Sultans of Golconda,LACMA , 17th century.

By Image: http://collections.lacma.org/sites/default/files/remote_images/piction/ma-2794559-O3.jpgGallery: http://collections.lacma.org/node/177837, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27254257

Illuminated Manuscript of the History of the Qutb Shahi Sultans of Golconda LACMA , 17th century

By Image: http://collections.lacma.org/sites/default/files/remote_images/piction/ma-2794553-O3.jpgGallery: http://collections.lacma.org/node/177837, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27254284

    After the death of Sultan Abdullah Qutub Shah. Abul Hasan ascended the throne. He was the son-in-law, ie. husband of the second daughter of Abdullah Qutub Shah. He was a follower of Shah Raju, and used to live in Gulbarga. Both of them came to Hyderabad. Shah Raju was a mystic and influenced the new court. Madanna, a Hindu became prime -minister and farmans (royal diktats) began to be issued in both Telugu and Persian. Urdu, Telugu and Arabic literature was patronised. There were influences in art too. Abul Hasan was nicknamed Tana Shah meaning king of taste. Many paintings of the Golconda school can be attributed to his time. The school was kept alive even after the defeat of Tana Shah in 1687 to Aurangzeb.The Mughal governors and local aristocracy engaged painters to work for them.

Visit of Sufi singer Shir Muhammad to Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, later Golconda school,1720.
By Govardhan II - http://expositions.bnf.fr/inde/grand/exp_031.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19082077

Akbar Shah, Son of saint Shah Raju,17th century.


By thesandiegomuseumofartcollection - Flickr, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38309515




Lady with a myna bird, early 17th century,Golconda.

By Deccan School - http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/12-11/features2319.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21077969



Durbar of eighteen princes, Qutub Shahi dynasty,17th century.

By Unknown - http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/singleObject.cfm?ObjectNumber=F1997.29, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24823741
References :

• Khan, Nazirul-Islam/Guide to Golconda, Bombay : Thacker & Company Limited,1941.
• Zebrowski, Mark/Deccani painting, New Delhi : Roli Books,1983.

Posted by :

Soma Ghosh

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