Persian Miniature Painting. [Ancient Game of Polo].

$1,800.00

Item Number: 124633

Rare Persian miniature painting depicting an ancient game of Chovgan, later adopted in the Western World as the game of polo. Affixed to an elaborately decorated paper mount, the painting depicts two opposing teams engaged in a game of Chovgan before a Persian cityscape. The ancient game of Chovgan originated in the middle of the first millennium A.D. in ancient Iran and was a Persian national sport played extensively by the nobility. Fragments of the game were periodically portrayed in ancient miniatures, and also detailed descriptions and rules of the game were also given in the ancient manuscripts. Englishmen had a great role in distribution and development of the game in Europe and the whole world. So chovgan – brought from India to England in the 19th century became more popular and addition of new rules into it favored quick spreading of this game in Europe and the USA. Namely on the initiative of Englishmen this game acquired its present name – polo and was included into program of the Olympic Games held in 1900, in Paris. In fine condition. Housed in an elaborate period frame. The entire piece measures 11.25 by 5.75 inches.

The Persian miniature was the dominant influence on other Islamic miniature traditions, principally the Ottoman miniature in Turkey, and the Mughal miniature in the Indian sub-continent. Persian art under Islam had never completely forbidden the human figure, and in the miniature tradition the depiction of figures, often in large numbers, is central. This was partly because the miniature is a private form, kept in a book or album and only shown to those the owner chooses. In later periods miniatures were increasingly created as single works to be included in albums called muraqqa, rather than illustrated books. This allowed non-royal collectors to afford a representative sample of works from different styles and periods.