Himalayan and Persian Ibex

A very fine drawing of the Himalayan swift-footed goat, the Himalayan Ibex. It shows two goats, white and grey resting on a plain ground at the foot of a hill. The terrain of the mountain is separated from the plain by a dark green band. The natural habitat of this swift and sure footed sheep is the serrated hilly landscape seen in the background.
Both the animals with their long curved horns have been sensitively drawn.
Animal studies had already developed into a fine art during Akbar’s period. Yet “animal portraiture” really gained prominence during the reign of his son and successor, Jahangir. Artist Mansur, who was honoured with the tile, Nadir-ul-asr rose to prominence during Jahangir’s reign and was adept at painting animal studies. In his memoirs – Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, Jahangir pays high compliments to his talents. He also mentions that in the fifteenth year of his reign i.e. 1620 CE Jahangir went to Kashmir where under his direction Mansur painted more than hundred studies of the flora there. Our painting may not be attributed to Mansur, but is doubtless of a fine quality one which may have been done by a lesser artist during the same time period.