Dasaratha summons Rama to inform him of the coming investiture
| Support Type: | Paper |
| Paint Type: | Gouache |
| Current Location: | Freer Gallery of Art (National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution), Washington, D.C., USA {Accession number: F1907.271.72 (part of the Freer Ramayana manuscript F1907.271.1-172)} |
| Location History: | This painting was made for the Mughal nobleman Abd al-Rahim Khan-i-Khanan in Northern India during the late 16th to early 17th century. By 1890 it had entered the collection of Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna in England. In 1907 Charles Lang Freer bought it from Hanna, and in 1920 it was given as a gift to the Freer Gallery of Art, where it remains today. |
This painting of Dasaratha summoning Rama to inform him of the impending investiture is a lovely late 16th-century Mughal miniature painted by Mushfiq. It was painted between 1597 and 1605, at the request of one of the richest merchants of that time, namely Abduallah Khan. The picture depicts an episode from the Ramayana that narrates about Dasaratha, the king, who asked his son Rama to come to him to tell him about his forthcoming investiture and gently holds his hand. Beautifully painted in watercolor, ink, and gold leaf on paper, this work of art has been recognized for its exquisite softness and calmness rather than the typical grandeur and opulence usually depicted in Mughal masterpieces. It was once part of the Freer Ramayana manuscript collection and was passed from the hands of British officer Hanna to American art collector Charles Lang Freer. This painting is currently placed in the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it has become a symbol of paternal devotion and Indian tradition.