The Lady Butterfly and Common Buckeye in Mughal Miniature by Mohan Prajapati

This vivid Mughal miniature painting by Mohan Prajapati captures a striking pair of butterfly specimens rendered in luminous detail upon a gold leaf ground, accompanied by passages of Persian calligraphy and a delicate marginal sketch, exemplifying the Mughal atelier's tradition of precise natural history illustration.

Mughal miniature paintings are intricate, highly detailed artworks that flourished in India between the 16th and 19th centuries. This courtly art form uniquely blends bold Indian colors, delicate Persian lines, and European shading, capturing a vivid record of the Mughal era.

The upper specimen is painted in vivid tangerine-orange patterned with bold black and white blotches along the wing margins, evoking the dramatic colouration of a Painted Lady or American Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui), its scalloped wingtips finely outlined in deep black.

Below it, a second butterfly is rendered in cool slate-grey and blue-black, its wings marked with a broad white diagonal band and a striking row of orange-ringed eyespots in golden-yellow and black along both fore and hindwings, closely resembling the Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia). Both specimens are aligned vertically upon the gold leaf field, bordered by a fine ochre-yellow rule.

Bands of elegant black nasta'liq script frame the composition above and below, while a small calligraphic inscription appears beneath the lower text band. To the right of the gilded panel, a loose, unfinished line drawing in black ink, faint sketched studies, possibly preparatory bird or floral forms, remains visible on the bare paper, offering a rare glimpse into the artist's working process. The page itself is heavily aged, with a dramatically torn and undulating left edge and warm overall toning consistent with a genuine historical folio.

24K gold foil is used in this painting.

Each of our artworks are hand painted by master artists across India. We provide a digital authentication certificate with this artwork signed by the artist which will be sent over email after 3-4 days of delivery of the artwork.

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All artworks on the website are hand painted from scratch by our master artists. This makes every artwork absolutely unique and the actual colour and overall artwork may vary slightly from the artwork image posted here.