Opulence and Fantasy: Sultans of Deccan India
MUMBAI - 5 April 2016, Asia Society proudly welcomed Ms Navina Haidar to talk about the exhibition ‘Sultans of Deccan India- Opulence and Fantasy’.
She began by explaining the two great powers that had conquered Southern India in the sixteenth century were the Bahmudi and the Vijayanagar empires. The Bahmudi Kingdom split into 5 individual states-Berar, Ahmednagar, Golkonda, Bijapur and Bidar that spanned the Deccan until the rule of the Mughals. In 1565, these five kingdoms collaborated to conquer Vijayangar and expanded in the Northern Territory, in the Battle of Talikota.
Ms Haidar explained how different archaeological objects provide unique insights even centuries later. For example, typical coinage of the time was inscribed with the name of the current ruler and had standard inscriptions in Devanagari script. However, coins found in circulation in the Vijayanagar area had Arabic script and a roughly 7:1 value over other prevailing coins, leading one to conclude that trade had occurred between those multiple kingdoms, and to assess the relative strength of the different economies.
Occasionally, Ms Haidar briefed us with fascinating incidents that had survived the rough course of history. She mentioned the ancient king Malik Ambar, who began life as a poor Ethiopian boy sold into slavery, only to rise to the rank of an Indian king. To understand the forces that took him across the Indian Ocean and elevated him is to acknowledge and appreciate the larger cultural forces in the context of the Deccan. An ancient portrait of Malik Ambar had been found - perhaps the earliest known portrait of him- made by his sworn enemy Jahangir. Emperor Jahangir had had a dream of Malik Ambar’s head impaled by gold arrows. Although this allegorical dream had been the cause of much gaiety and rejoicing in Jahangir’s court, it did not eventually happen- Malik Ambar lived, unharmed by golden arrows or otherwise, until the age of 80. In the portrait, Jahangir is presented as symbolic of goodness and light, and Malik Ambar symbolic of ‘darkness and the night’. The portrait is a medley of Indic style and Persian colour schemes.
Ms Haidar also mentioned a dagger that had sparked much interest. This dagger was copper plated but with a gold hilt. The hilt of the dagger boasted two interesting features- that of a lion subduing an elephant in his claws and of a dragon subduing a phoenix. In ancient Indian kingdoms, lions are considered symbols of opulence and royalty, whereas elephants are sometimes displayed as subservient figures. The dragon and the phoenix are very Chinese elements. Thus the dagger itself suggests the involvement of many different foreigners.
Unlike the Mughals, the Deccan kingdoms showed resistance to European influences on their art. Even though several paintings are seen to have quoted from Chinese sources, this was accomplished without the Chinese art being shipped to scale. Thus one finds paintings of landscapes with plants that are large and out of scale.
Towards the end of this session, we were told briefly about the kingdom of Golconda. Golconda was home to most of the world’s source of diamonds until the 18th Century when states in Africa and Brazil began exporting diamonds on a larger scale. Several of the Golkonda diamonds can be seen in ancient objects as tiny octahedral crystals, just as they are found in their natural form.
Ms Haidar did mention several other paintings and objects d’art, mentioning ancient texts such as the Kitab-e-Navras and occasionally translating certain inscriptions in Arabic to explain what certain figures mean. The evening provided a unique and refreshing perspective on ancient art, especially to younger members of the audience.
Reported by Kamya Sankaranarayanan, Programme Assistant Intern, Asia Society India Centre.