Some of the earliest Deccani miniatures, from Ahmadnagar, depict the queen and her marriage. To which tradition does the woman represented in them belong?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → The northern tradition of pre-Mughal painting
Option (1) The southern tradition of the Lepakshi frescoes — Incorrect. Only the long scarf passing below the hips is a southern fashion seen in the Lepakshi frescoes. The woman herself is not linked to them.
Option (2) The northern tradition of pre-Mughal painting — Correct. The woman in these miniatures belongs to the northern tradition of pre-Mughal painting. It was flourishing in Malwa and Ahmedabad at that time.
Option (3) The Persian tradition of court painting — Incorrect. Persian influence is seen in the high circular horizon and gold sky, not in the woman.
Option (4) The tradition of the Mughal atelier — Incorrect. The northern manuscripts came largely from the Mughal atelier. The Ahmadnagar palette is different from theirs.
Note: This topic was not named in the CUET 2026 syllabus, but it was part of the NCERT chapter. In 2025 and 2026, NTA also asked questions on topics in NCERT that the CUET syllabus did not name. So our mocks have questions from every part of the NCERT chapter, to give you enough practice. Read the whole chapter, not only the sub-topics named in the syllabus.
NCERT (2026-27): “Ahmadnagar School of Painting 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. The woman represented in it belongs to the northern tradition of pre-Mughal painting, which was flourishing especially in Malwa and Ahmedabad during this period.…” |