Stuart Cary Welch’s collection of Persian, Turkish, and Indian art is renowned throughout the world for its quality and depth. In 1999, Welch made a generous gift of drawings to the Harvard University Art Museums, which form the basis of the present catalogue. Spanning five centuries and extending from Istanbul to Calcutta, these drawings represent the great empires of the Ottomans in Turkey, the Safavids in Iran, and the Mughals in India as well as numerous regional Hindu kingdoms. This important book presents more than seventy exquisite drawings—some of which are counted among the greatest Indian, Persian, or Turkish drawings ever made—and explores the connections between the arts and artists of the three cultures.

As with drawings from European traditions, the works display an immediacy that is often absent in paintings. The drawings deal with fascinating and diverse subjects ranging from court portraits, stories from fable and myth, and hunting scenes to animals, flowers, and people sketched from life. The contributors to the book shed light on various aspects of the drawings and the artists, and Welch offers an engaging account of his trials and triumphs while acquiring the works in his unparalleled collection.

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Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

Print publication date September 2004 (in print)

Print ISBN 9780300104738

EISBN 9780300243895

Illustrations 133

Print Status in print

Publisher (in print)

WorldCat

Google Books

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