Johnson 54,40

The farmer and his wife.

Inscribed on reverse in Persian: ‘Anvar-i suhaili kharid hasht rupiya batarikh-i dahum-i shahr-i m[uharram] dakhil-i kitabkhanah shu’d.’ Sarkar-i nawab sahib mumtaz al-daula mufakhir al-mulk husam jang mistar richard jansan sahib bahadur dam iqbaluhu’ ([this] ‘Anvar-i Suhaili’ was brought for 8 rupees on the 10th Muharram inside the library [followed by the titles and name of Richard Johnson ‘may his prosperity endure’]).

Portions of two illustrations joined together and overpainted; panel of eight lines of text; rebacked.

223 by 124 mm; page 303 by 192 mm.

The farmer is setting out on a journey with his faithless wife, the farmer with a staff and orange cloak, the wife dressed in pink and blue. A crow is in a tree above (Eastwick (1854), chapter VII, story II, 426: IO Isl 1403, f.166r).

Note: The inscription on the reverse, perhaps written by a clerk in the employment of Johnson, makes it clear that these miniatures were purchased from a library, perhaps that of a noble Lucknow family, rather than from an agent or travelling dealer. Although no year date is given, the library must have been in Lucknow and the year of purchase must fall within Johnson’s residence there, 1780-82.