The impressive pursuit of composite animal illustrations, often associated with Indian painting, traces its roots to early Buddhist manuscripts in Central Asia. By the end of sixteenth century, the subject reached great popularity among Persian miniaturists, and subsequently influenced the Indian schools of miniature painting, including the Jaipur school that produced this fine work. In the present example, the figure, perhaps a maharaja, wears sleeves and pantlegs created with makara-like beasts, while his turban and shoulder pads are formed by lionheads, alluding to royalty and power. He commands control of the large beast by an attached snake acting as its leash. The beast is a masterful ensemble of a diverse array of fauna, including tigers, crocodiles, rams, doves, an elephant, and even a human woman and child.
The works of art from the collection of Dr. Robert and Mrs. Patricia Jacobsen in this sale and others of Asian Art Week Online reflect their interest in various areas of Asian art. This seems especially appropriate for Dr. Jacobsen, who has had a long and distinguished career in the field of Asian art, as a scholar, teacher, lecturer, and most notably as the Chair of Asian Art and Curator of Chinese, Indian, Himalayan, Southeast Asian and Islamic Art Department at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
During his tenure at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, which began in 1976 when Dr. Jacobsen was made the founding curator of the Department of Asian Art, what started as a 900-piece collection, primarily of ancient bronzes and Japanese prints, grew to a collection of 14,500 objects. He has organized and curated numerous exhibitions including Japanese Art: Selections from the Mary and Jackson Burke Collection (1977); The Art of Japanese Screen Painting (1984); Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (1999); Imperial Silks: Ch’ing Dynasty Textiles in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (2000); and Appreciating China: Gifts from Ruth and Bruce Dayton (2002). He has written more than thirty scholarly articles and books on Asian art; most recently he was the author of Celestial Horses & Long Sleeve Dancers: The David W. Dewey Collection of Ancient Chinese Tomb Sculpture. His particular interests have been early Chinese art, Chinese architecture and classical Chinese furniture. It is the latter two interests, combined with the enthusiastic support of Ruth and Bruce Dayton, that led to the creation of one of the great public collections of classical Chinese furniture and scholar’s objects, and the galleries that house and highlight them, including a 400-year old Ming-dynasty reception hall and a Qing-dynasty scholar’s studio from 1797, which Dr. Jacobsen brought back from China.
Also see lots 8, 33, 35, and 46 for additional works from this collection.
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