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Aurangabad School 

The Great Mughal Shaj Jahan appointed his son Aurangzeb (1658-1707) Viceroy to the Deccan. Aurungzeb established his capital in the northern Deccan in a city named Aurangabad after him. He spent much of his time campaigning against the Deccaani courts and sacked the forts of Golconda and Bijapur in 1689. At the beginning of his reign good paintings were produce in Aurangabad but after 1680 he became a strict orthodox Muslim antagonistic to art. As a result, his artists dispersed to the Hindu courts of Rajasthan.

This work was probably painted by artists imported from Rajasthan (Mewar) because the heavily moustached faces are typical of that style. The colours are rich and glowing and the paint is so thick that it almost has a lacquer-like effect. The ruler sits on a raised seat against a cushion. On the carpet beside him are a rose-water sprinkler and a paan box. Behind him is an attendant standing in front of a rolled blind and holding a peacock fan,. Their transparent costumes, sashes, turbans and jewellery seem Deccani, as does the unusual glowing colour combination of orange, lime green and purple The musicians are Hidus because their robes fasten under their left arms. The musician with an animal head, directing the music and playing cymbols, is probably meant to be a personified god. The work illustrates a Ragamala, or musical mode, a Deccani specialisation.