Fitzwilliam Study Room

Indian and Persian Paintings

The Botanical World in Paintings

The study session with Dr Vivek Gupta looked at the botanical world in Indian and Persian paintings, especially the symbolic role of plants/flowers as representative of world knowledge. The group looked at the role of landscapes and the visual intertwining of nature and human figures. The discussions also touched on the representation of seasons, such as the monsoons and the summer heat as well as the beloved fruit of South Asia: mangoes.

Paintings from the Fitzwilliam Museum

PD. 155-1948 Portrait of Shah 'Abbas II holding a spray of flowers in his right hand, and taking a bow out of a case with the left
PD.91-1948 Emperor Jahangir standing facing right in a flowery meadow, with a sword in his left hand late, 17th Century
PD.115-1948 Rama reclining against Sita, while his brother Lakshmana draws a thorn from his foot
PD.160-1948 Calligrapher at work, watched by a youth; they are seated on a carpet under a flowering tree
PD.138-1948 Two men with archer's rings on thumbs, dressed in white muslin clothes, one giving the other a lemon (or mango?)

Fitzwilliam Study Room

Indian and Persian Paintings

The Botanical World in Paintings

PD. 155-1948 Portrait of Shah 'Abbas II holding a spray of flowers in his right hand, and taking a bow out of a case with the left

PD.91-1948 Emperor Jahangir standing facing right in a flowery meadow, with a sword in his left hand late, 17th Century

PD.115-1948 Rama reclining against Sita, while his brother Lakshmana draws a thorn from his foot

PD.160-1948 Calligrapher at work, watched by a youth; they are seated on a carpet under a flowering tree

PD.138-1948 Two men with archer's rings on thumbs, dressed in white muslin clothes, one giving the other a lemon (or mango?)

University Library Manuscripts, Part 1

Plants of the Qur’an