Hiba Khan
Art Researcher
About the Researcher
No bio available.
19th Century • Qajar • Iran
A view of a palace (c. 1880s)
Research based on 4 sources
19th Century • Qajar • Iran
\'A lacquer mirror case\'
Research based on 4 sources
19th Century • Qajar • Iran
One of \'two lacquer penboxes\' signed by Najaf ʿAli
Research based on 5 sources
19th Century • Qajar • Iran
A lacquer pen-box, depicting scenes of \'Shaykh Sanan and a Christian maiden\'
Research based on 5 sources
19th Century • Qajar • Iran
Portrait of Abbas Mirza Qajar
Research based on 2 sources
19th Century • Qajar • Iran
Pen Box with Indian Woman in a Landscape
Research based on 5 sources
19th Century • Zand • Iran
Portrait of Prince Nasir al-Din Mirza
Research based on 2 sources
19th Century • Qajar • Iran
A Couple Embracing
Research based on 5 sources
19th Century • Zand • Iran
Binding of a Manuscript (Cover)
Research based on 3 sources
18th Century • Qajar • Iran
Lacquer pen-box by Muhammed Sadiq
Research based on 4 sources
18th Century • Qajar • Iran
A lacquer mirror case by Muhammed Sadiq
Research based on 3 sources
18th Century • Zand • Iran
A portrait of Rustam Khan Zand
Research based on 6 sources
18th Century • Zand • Iran
A Lady at Leisure
Research based on 7 sources
18th Century • Zand • Iran
Painting of a Young Beauty
Research based on 4 sources
17th Century • Safavid • Iran
Woman holding a cup and a decanter
Research based on 8 sources
17th Century • Safavid • Iran
Nobleman
Research based on 4 sources
17th Century • Safavid • Iran
Man in a Fur-Lined Coat
Research based on 3 sources
17th Century • Safavid • Iran
Sulayman and the Queen of Sheba enthroned together attended by angels, demons, animals, birds, and Asaf the vizier
Research based on 5 sources
17th Century • Safavid • Iran
Youth in European Clothing
Research based on 4 sources
17th Century • Safavid • Iran
Study of a Bird
Research based on 3 sources
17th Century • Safavid • Iran
The Lovers
Research based on 5 sources
17th Century • Safavid • Iran
A Stallion
Research based on 5 sources
16th Century • Safavid • Iran
The Concourse of the Birds
Research based on 5 sources
16th Century • Safavid • Iran
Yusuf Gives a Royal Banquet in Honor of His Marriage (Folio from Haft Awrang)
Research based on 4 sources
16th Century • Timurid • Iran
Youth with Book
Research based on 4 sources
16th Century • Timurid • Iran
Buzurjmihr Appears at Nushirvan\'s Fifth Assembly (Folio of the Shahnama)
Research based on 4 sources
16th Century • Timurid • Iran
The Angel Surush Rescues Khusrau Parviz from a Cul-de-sac (Folio of the Shahnama)
Research based on 3 sources
16th Century • Timurid • Iran
The Coronation of the Infant Shapur the Second (Folio of the Shahnama)
Research based on 3 sources
Maternité
The haziness of this intimate scene, where a mother lovingly holds her baby, speaks to the haziness of memory, perhaps suggesting that this painting is a depiction of reminiscing on younger years as a family. The golden undertones helped allude to this as well, making…
The Story Of Haftvad And The Worm, from the Shahnameh
This painting demonstrates Dust Muhammed's preference in colour palette, using high contract within saturated colours to emphasise silhouettes against backgrounds and create eye-leading compositions via the grouping of such colour blocks, such as the upper-right and mid-left rocks of the scene or the large building…
Tubeflower Bowing Lady
With this beautiful depiction of a tubeflower, Bhawani Das demonstrates the skill and understanding needed to document and illustrate for scientific and artistic pleasure. This level of detail, where each individual leaf is rendered and each flower is examined separately, highlights the scrutiny and the…
Feeding the Parrot
Feeding the Parrot is a wonderful examination of how culture, politics and daily life can all be reflected in a single piece of art. Using golden lighting for such a detailed piece of portraiture emphasises something beautiful and peaceful about this woman's quiet chore.
The Birth of Ganga
The serenity of the image complements the sheer scale of what it means to represent: Ganga flowing from Shiva's hair to ease her descent to Earth as she was too powerful a force otherwise. Shiva's closed eyes and upturned palms demonstrate his own calm strength,…
Adham Khan Pays Homeage to Akbar At Sarangpur
This illustration is a fascinating example of power dynamics among royalty and relatives, as well as among social circles which then surround them. Where Adham Khan bows to the central figure of emperor Akbar above him, the rest of those who serve them encircle the…
Prince Padam Singh of Bikaner with His Bard Gordhar on a Terrace at Night by Bhavanidas
This painting could be a demonstration of political negotiation via subtext or rather, the kind of subtlety often found in upper-class dialects. The dish between them, if one assumes it to be full of rice, is being assaulted by a pair of common flies, settled…
Still Life with Dressed Game, Meat, and Fruit
Interestingly, this painting appears to revere this spread as a demonstration of hunting prowess, paired with fresh fruit to add both colour, variety and balance.
Portrait of a woman with a mask
The painting has a dream-like quality to it, devoting a softness to the light and colours that renders the woman as though a figment of the imagination, or a fantasy. The mask is the main point of contrast within this image, its darker colour reducing…
Bathsheba at the Bath
Compared to other painted depictions of this scene, Maratta has given the women a distinctive dynamic between them, where the servants look at each other with a sense of mischief or at least camaraderie. Between the elegant expression of the one who stands, the possibly…
The Siege of Mathura by Jarasandha
The composition highlights the power dynamics occurring before the battle: the fort that holds Krishna oppresses the presence of the army opposing him, pressing them tightly within their ranks in a nearly claustrophobic manner. In contrast, the fort itself has room to breathe, stretched out…
Counsel for Defense (Le Défenseur)
The satirical intention behind this piece of art is phenomenally carried out, from the scale of expressiveness across both the lawyer and whom he defends' faces to the minimal but highly effective shadows, adding depth to the foreground and background effortlessly. This is an incredibly…
The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne
The scene this painting depicts is soft, with both women's expressions carrying a sense of affection and fondness. Interestingly, perhaps the lamb could be considered as part of this inter-generational display, where Saint Anne carries her daughter who carries her son who carries the lamb,…
Boys on a riverbank (c. 1888-1896); reworked 1906
It is a painting about childhood and more importantly, fun. The scene depicts three boys simply enjoying their time together and enjoying nature, painted in such a way that the figures suit the natural background, as though one is not so different from the other.…
Receipt of the scroll by Jain Pontiff Vijaysena Suri, Detail from Agra Vijnaptipatra, 1610
The clean separation of the background, the upper half in a bright red and the lower half in more textured greens, could be an indication of status or otherwise actions, as the green half displays more common festival rites. It is interesting to note how…
Akbar and Azim Khan at Dipalpur
The perspective of this piece is particularly interesting, as the composition and tents would suggest a forward-face, yet the canopy right over Akbar's chair is angled, slanted in a way that would be from a side-perspective. It makes an unusual mark as it cuts through…
Love at the Source of Life
The scene feels almost nostalgic by colour alone, and peaceful by composition. The way the winged figure regards the pair of lovers, who demonstrate joy in their love by their posing and expressions, with what one could claim is a wistfulness. Perhaps they are an…
Melancholia
The title alone ensures no viewer can mistake the sombre mood, in addition to the dark and dim colour palette, broken up only by small shapes of colour such as the woman's blue vest, another sad colour association, and tanned scroll or material that hangs…
Akbar's Triumphal Entry into Surat
Depicting a grandiose scene, where Emperor Akbar takes the central focus, not only by composition but also by the contrast of his dark horse against the sand, this painting is an excellent study in layering a scene with multiple crowds of people. There are notable…
Shirin Receives a Ring from Khusraw
The piece demonstrates a very technical and deep understanding of complex composition; the separation of the pavilions by the architecture, which then also breaks out of the painting framing, helps to create a guiding line for the eye. In the bottom half where the king…
The Marketplace at Pirna
Through a highly detailed rendering of a marketplace, so much so that it could be mistaken for a photo at first glance, this painting depicts a wonderful perspective on the daily lives of people after an extended time of war. The softly-coloured sky and clouds…
Leaf of the Razamnama
Given the context of the narrative, it seems a strangely external piece, the composition allowing viewers to see multiple layers of the story at once but therefore giving a sense of intrusion on the private space of the family's home. Although surrounded by women, including…
The Three Ages of Humans
It is quite a moving piece, demonstrating the three distinctions we often make of human ages: young, middling, and old. These ages are then depicted by what we often associate with those ages the most: play, connection, and reflection. Each age is framed by association…
The Baptism of Christ
It is a somewhat uncanny depiction of Jesus, both humanising and dehumanising at the same time. The intense symmetry of his upper posture and the bird above his head contrast against the more realistic man struggling to get his shirt off, the imbalance of the…
Akbar Hunting at Palam (ca. 1590-95 )
A rather gruesome piece full of motion and characterisation despite a lack of expressiveness that a modern day art-viewer might be used to. Each person stance displays something, such as the second man from the left in the top row of people appearing ready to…
Kannauj,the Ancestral Kingdom of the Rathores
This painting demonstrates much about the style of perspective of 19th century Indian art, with a flatness that allows for an overhead view of as much landscape as possible. The city walls are drawn as though boundaries in a map, as are the trees and…
The Punishment of Tityus
It is a visceral scene, meant to deliver a sense of empathetic revulsion as viewers witness a naked, and therefore vulnerable, man being restrained by chains and a massive snake that eats away at him. It is interesting how Tityus' posture shields his name and…
Shah Jahan on Horseback
One of the most striking features of the painting is the golden halo around Shah Jahan, contrasting beautifully against the particular blue of the sky. It attributes divinity to him, something common across historical monarchies, in the same way his fashion and accessories demonstrate his…
Hawking Portrait of Emperor Jahangir and a Page
A portrait of royal pastimes, this painting depicts something interesting about the wardrobe of pages during the 17th century of India; namely that they wore what we consider luxurious in pattern and colour. Yet the emperor is set apart by his own wardrobe, draped in…
Akbar Hunting
The stylisation of the environment is sensational in how it manages to draw the eye to the centre without strict leading lines, using the composition to make for a sense of progression from right to left. The piece certainly depicts it Emperor with power through…
Entry into Jerusalem
Those following Christ share a halo with him, likely a display of being enlightened, while those greeting him way do not yet. There is an interesting figure who appears to be pulling something out of the donkey's way, something that could be blood or perhaps…
A scene from the story of Madhavania and Kamakandala
According to the V&A source, a musician is being attended by servants of the princess in a pavilion, the social statuses of both being quite prominent through the painting's composition, where the eye is guided toward the princess by the architecture but to the musician…
Emperor Jahangir Receiving His Two Sons
It is fascinating to read from the description that the story isn't as important to consider as the construction or rather, the depiction, of the royal family within the painting. The historical context of rebellion makes the posturing in the painting all the more ironic.
Three Trees of India
This piece depicts some of India's natural world, and the ways that it was historically recorded, demonstrating how scientific observation and illustration had always been a part of humanity.
La belle Dame Sans Merci
It is a piece that contrasts the lady and knight in a rather unique way, where the lady alone has motion and power to her posture whereas the knight is static and more inclined to grace.
Shiv and Parvati
It is a beautiful piece of work that appears to be riddled with symbolism, between the snake, the flowers, and the overall composition.
Sand Diggers on the Mugnone
It is a quiet reflection of the day-to-day, of the pleasure of the environment around us when we take the moment to admire it. This painting seems to respect the workers within it by centering them, pairing them with beautiful lighting and making them part…
Akbar
Although a depiction of animal taming, the painting of Akbar is also, however unintentionally, a depiction of human violence when seeking control. The amount of weaponry, or 'taming' tools, combined with aggressive posturing by the men in the painting, is rather bleak imagery when considering…
The death of Aminta
The use of lighting and colour is very interesting, as it begins with golden hues and tones on the left side, where the men sit and speak, highlighting both Aminta and Sylvia and almost dragging them away from the darkness of the far right. This…
Part of the Ghats at Benares
Sita Ram's work is a consistent display of India's soft beauty, and the way architecture can harmonise with nature in such a light. Under the multi-layered skies that show sunlight, storm clouds and an easy emptiness all at once, the ghat remains steady as the…
Baqi Muhammad Khan
It is a matter of showcasing political dynamics: interestingly, the composition and perspective almost draws the eye away from the young ruler and his foster mother, perhaps to imply the separate class they, together, are a part of from the rest of the court around…
Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings
The mix of European motifs with Persian context is interesting, as the cherubs near the hourglass appear to be writing upon it, while the ones above appear to be nothing more than decoration. Combining them with the distinct way King James is styled, separately from…
A Meeting on the Bridge
A beautiful description was provided; I agree with all of their points, that the work depicts ways of connection and how the private can manifest in the public, all through characterisation and composition. It is a piece that tells a story quite vividly through its…
Benares with the Panchganga and Aurangzeb's Mosque
I agree with the description, the phrasing "rhythms of everyday life" is very accurate for the way Sita Ram populates the landscape without detracting from the architecture. As the Radha source describes, this site is where five rivers meet, highlighting just how many people are…