The Portrait of a Horse

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Of all animals, from India or abroad, the horse and the elephant have been the widest choice of Indian medieval artists. They have associated with them numerous legends, myths and some sort of divinity. The elephant was long back sanctified in the form of Lord Ganesh and the horse as early in the form of Hayabadana, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu with the head of a horse. Buddha's life has episodes related to both, the horse and the animal and they both figure amongst the sacred symbols of the Jain thirthankaras. The horse was the favourite companion of the Sikh Guru Sri Guru Gobind Singh. In the loyalty of Chetaka, the trusted companion of Maharana Pratap of Mewar, the horse discovered the legend of its immortality. Both the horse and the elephant have strongly figured in every phase of Indian civilisation. These two animals, often as man's co-inhabitants but also independently, dominate a great bulk of the Indian miniature paintings.

Though a formal and static, the beautiful horse, young and energetic as it seems, has been portrayed here fully saddled and adorned. From the yak-tail suspended from its neck the painting seems to be the representation of some horse from the Mughal stable. The Mughals considered this yak-tail auspicious and carried it ahead of them as an auspicious standard and hence ornamented their horses with it. The Persian blue in the circular side flanks and the green in the saddle and in the riding seat are the more widely used colours of Mughal era. The white complexion of the horse with beautiful patches of brown, an extra black tail and light saffron feet are marks of the rare breed of the animal. It is bejeweled richly, with precious stones laid on ornaments of gold. The black crest on its head too is majestic.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of literature and is the author of numerous books on Indian art and culture. Dr. Daljeet is the curator of the Miniature Painting Gallery, National Museum, New Delhi. They have both collaborated together on a number of books.