Artwork story
About The House of Bijapur
The artist and artwork
Kamal Muhammad and Chand Muhammad painted The House of Bijapur around 1680 in ink, opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper. The album leaf assembles all nine rulers of Bijapur's 'Adil Shahi dynasty in one imagined court. Their signed border identifies both painters. Shifts of viewpoint, unequal figure scales, vivid pink, blue, green, and gold, and a fantastic landscape make historical memory ceremonial rather than documentary.
The world around it
The picture was made for Sikandar 'Adil Shah, shown as a young boy and destined to be the dynasty's last ruler. Mughal forces conquered Bijapur in 1686, only a few years later. The earlier golden age under Ibrahim II welcomed Hindu and Sufi thought while formalizing Sunnism as the state religion. Persian, Indian, Mughal, and European traditions meet in a backward-looking assembly that claims continuity at the edge of political collapse.
A detail to notice
At center, Isma'il, founder of Iran's Safavid dynasty, hands a key of legitimacy to Yusuf, founder of Bijapur's line; a later inscription mistakenly calls him Shah 'Abbas. Sultans sit beneath green canopies on flowered carpet. Pink mountains, impossible waterfalls, summit buildings, and tiny ships recall the kingdom's former reach toward Goa. Attendants and a white horse occupy the lower zone, while stairs to the royal carpet have no visible support. Dynasty, memory, and geography float together just before conquest.
Look closer: materials, scale, and subjects
The recorded object is illustrated album leaf made in Ink, opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper and held in the Islamic Art department.
Recorded dimensions include Page: H. 16 1/4 in. (41.3 cm); W. 12 13/16 in. (32.5cm); Mat: H. 22 in. (55.9 cm); W. 16 in. (40.6 cm).
Subject terms include Men, Horses, and Landscapes. Treat them as guideposts, not a complete interpretation.
Collection history and public-domain source
The collection credit line is Purchase, Gifts in memory of Richard Ettinghausen; Schimmel Foundation Inc., Ehsan Yarshater, Karekin Beshir Ltd., Margaret Mushekian, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Ablat and Mr. and Mrs. Jerome A. Straka Gifts; The Friends of the Islamic Department Fund; Gifts of Mrs. A. Lincoln Scott and George Blumenthal, Bequests of Florence L. Goldmark, Charles R. Gerth and Millie Bruhl Frederick, and funds from various donors, by exchange; Louis E. and Theresa S. Seley Purchase Fund for Islamic Art and Rogers Fund, 1982.
The individual artwork page and official image were verified as Public Domain on 2026-08-23.
No Context Gallery independently uses the public-domain image. The source museum has not endorsed, sponsored, or affiliated itself with these products.
Research sources
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