Bhils Hunting by Night

Description

The inscription in Persian below this painting translates as “Bhil huntresses on their way to the Deccan, hunting deer at night.” The Bhils form one of the largest tribal groups in India and are settled mostly in the north. This painting captures three female Bhils on a hunting expedition in the Deccan region of central India. Clad in leaf skirts, the young women work together to stalk their prey. One shines an oil-fired lantern at a group of deer, illuminating the scene and startling the animals into stillness. This allows the central figure, clad in a red turban, to fire her arrow and accurately hit a black buck. The other animals register their alarm and begin to flee in terror.

Indian paintings rarely are attributed to individual artists, but the artist Faizallah placed his signature in miniature script just above the woman holding the lantern in this painting. He came from a distinguished line of Mughal painters; both his father and his grandfather were prominent artists who flourished in the imperial court at Delhi. With the decline of power of the Mughal emperor in Delhi, Faizallah found employment in the thriving courts of the eastern state of Awadh.

A painting by Faizallah’s father, Faqirullah, is on view in the exhibition Epic Tales from India: Paintings from the San Diego Museum of Art. A painting for a Ragamala set titled Dipak Raga, Faqirullah’s work was done around 1755; like his son, he signed his work in miniature script near one of the figures.