"Black Buck", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album 1505 - 1645

This Mughal-era painting by Manohar features a blackbuck, a type of antelope native to the Indian subcontinent, rendered with striking naturalism. The blackbuck, revered in Indian culture, is often associated with purity and grace, and is linked to the divine, frequently appearing in religious and mythological narratives. Consider the ancient Greek myth of Actaeon, who was transformed into a stag and hunted down by his own hounds after witnessing Artemis bathing. Here, too, the animal is imbued with a profound sense of vulnerability and the idea of transformation. The elegant floral motifs adorning the borders, while decorative, also connect the animal to its natural habitat, hinting at themes of fertility and abundance. This recalls similar patterns in Renaissance tapestries, where flora and fauna symbolize the interconnectedness of life. The image evokes a sense of timelessness. The blackbuck, poised and alert, becomes a symbol of enduring natural beauty, forever captured in this delicate painting.