eastiseverywhere:Plato as a MusicianIndia (c. 1600) Border from Iran (1800s)Opaque watercolor, gold,
eastiseverywhere:Plato as a MusicianIndia (c. 1600) Border from Iran (1800s)Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paperLACMA[Source]Stephen Markel writes for Asianart.com:Plato is dressed in European-derived garb (note especially the silk or velvet toque-style hat with a fur brim). He plays bagpipes and an Indianized harp that is probably derived from earlier Mughal and Islamic images of Plato (Arabic name: Aflatun) playing esoteric melodies to tame wild animals on a special organ he constructed and took into the wilderness. Whereas other compositions of this theme include the pacified animals, particularly stereotypical predators and prey such as tigers and gazelles, in this particular painting and its descendent versions Plato has been isolated and set in a European-style landscape devoid of animals apart from the birds flying overhead. Here, the pictorial emphasis is on the exotic figure of Plato and his curious instrument; nevertheless, his symbolic mastery of the animals would have been understood by the Mughal viewers. -- source link
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