ornaments-of-the-world:Inhabited scrollworkIndia, Mughal or Deccan; c. 1600Scrollwork of various kin
ornaments-of-the-world:Inhabited scrollworkIndia, Mughal or Deccan; c. 1600Scrollwork of various kinds is based on the ornaments of Antiquity and was a firmly established part of the vocabulary of Islamic art from the beginning. This is also true of a motif like “inhabited scrollwork,” in which animals or putti were found among the vines’ foliage in Antiquity. A vine like this one was based directly on drawings from 15th-century Iran, when Chinese motifs were combined with arabesques or other vegetation. Here we see a flamboyant phoenix, a dragon, and a qilin (one-horned mythical creature) in combat, along with a lion-like beast. Birds sit amidst the vines, which also sprout lotuses and the heads of dragons, various felines, birds, and deer, through which the vines continue. -- source link