The correct answer is Option 1-(C), (E), (B), (D), (A)
(C) Golconda
(E) Ahmadnagar
(B) Bijapur
(D) Guler
(A) Kangra
Golconda became an independent state in 1512. By the end of the sixteenth century, it was the wealthiest of the Deccan kingdoms. This was largely due to brisk trade from the ports along the east coast, from where iron and cotton goods were shipped to South East Asia. The earliest five miniatures, identified as Golconda work, were bound up in Diwan of Hafiz, dated 1463. These paintings represent court scenes of a young ruler, who is depicted seated enthroned, holding a typically long and straight Deccani sword, in the centre of one of the painting folios.
The earliest examples of Deccani painting are in a volume of poems, celebrating the reign of Hussain Nizam Shah I of Ahmadnagar (1553–1565). Most of the 12 miniatures that illustrate battle scenes are of no artistic interest, but interestingly, those depicting the queen and her marriage delight us with gorgeous colours and sensuous lines.
Paintings from Bijapur in the sixteenth century have a richly illustrated encyclopaedia known as the Nujum al-Ulum dated 1570. Among the 876 miniatures, which adorn this remarkable little volume, many illustrate weapons and utensils, while others the constellations. The women are shown in south Indian dress, tall and slender as those in the Ragamala paintings. The school of Bijapur was patronised by Ali Adil Shah I (1558–1580) and his successor Ibrahim II (1580–1627), both patrons of art and literature.
The first quarter of the eighteenth century saw a complete transformation in the Basohli style, initiating the Guler–Kangra phase. This phase first appeared in Guler, a high-ranking branch of the Kangra royal family, under the patronage of Raja Govardhan Chand (1744–1773). Guler appears to have a long tradition of paintings amongst all Pahari schools. There is evidence that artists were working in Haripur–Guler ever since the reign of Dalip Singh (1695–1743) as many of his and his son Bishan Singh’s portraits, dating back to earlier than 1730s, i.e., before the beginning of the Guler–Kangra phase can be found. Bishan Singh died during the lifetime of his father Dalip Singh. So, his younger brother Govardhan Chand ascended to the throne that witnessed a change in painting style.
Painting in the Kangra region blossomed under the patronage of a remarkable ruler, Raja Sansar Chand (1775–1823). It is believed that when Prakash Chand of Guler came under grave financial crisis and could no longer maintain his atelier, his master artist, Manaku, and his sons took service under Sansar Chand of Kangra. |
