Machine summary:
The work of the school of Bihzad at the court of Shah Tahrnasp in the sixteenth century shows the grace of Shiraz combined with the power of Herat; and similarly at the court of Akbar in the miniatures of 'Abdu's Samad and Mir Sayyid 'Ali we notice the beauty of the norms and technique of Persia happily attuned to a love of realism which these artists learned in India.
Like the Great Mughals the kings of the Deccan were enthusiastic patrons of art and their courts had a galaxy of calligraphists, illuminators and painters hailing from different climes, particularly Persia.
"" which shows the high watermark reached in the arts of calligraphy and painting in the reign of Ibrahim 'Adil Shah at whose instance the book was probably written and illustrated.
The picture is evidently the work of a Persian painter, for it has the subtle charm of the technique and feeling of the Persian art; but at the same time it shows a characterisation in the depiction of individual figures, a mature tonality in the mixing of colours, and an idea of light and shade, and depth and volume, such as we do not ordinarily find in Persian minia• tures and, which features the Persian artists must have learnt in India for they are clearly traceable in the contemporary paintings executed _by the court painters of Akbar and [ahangfr.