The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Vertically oriented black ink drawing on tan paper depicting a man with wiry, dark hair bowing at the feet of a standing man, holding a rectangular box under his left arm and placing his right pointer finger on the corner of his lips, looking down. His hair is wrapped with a feather on top. Behind to our left stand trees and, to the right, rocky outcroppings. Pale blue speckled with gold frames the paper.

A holy man prostrating himself before a learned prince

c. 1585; border added probably 1700s

attributed to Manohar

(Indian, active late 1500s)
Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)
ink on paper, laid down with borders of gold-decorated blue paper
Page: 31.5 x 19.7 cm (12 3/8 x 7 3/4 in.)
Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.297
Location: 242B Indian Painting

Description

Manohar riffs on the work of his father, Basavana, by showing a holy man bowing at the feet of a prince, instead of another holy man. Those who could recognize the relationship between this work and that of his father (CMA 2013.296) would impress gatherings of courtly connoisseurs, who prided themselves on being able to identify the hand of individual artists just by looking at the paintings. Recitation of poetry would accompany the viewing of paintings and drawings. Virtuoso artists reflected glory on their patrons. As an Islamic ruler, Akbar and his court participated in these activities—a new purpose for art that Indian artists had to learn.
  • early 20th century
    Sevadjian Collection, Paris, France
    March 18–20, 1961
    (Hotel Drouot, Paris, France, Art Persan, Collection Sevadjian, 18–20 March 1961 sale, lot 92, sold to a Private Collection)
    1961–94
    Private Collection, France
    October 20, 1994
    (Christie’s, South Kensington, London, England, Oriental Ceramics and Works of Art, 20 October, 1994, lot 300, sold to Ralph and Catherine Glynn Benkaim)
    1994–2013
    Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Ralph Benkaim Collection
    2013–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Mace, Sonya Rhie, Mohsen Ashtiany, Catherine Glynn, Pedro Moura Carvalho, Marcus Fraser, and Ruby Lal. Mughal Paintings: Art and Stories: the Cleveland Museum of Art. London: D Giles Limited, 2016. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. 11, p. 199
  • Indian Painting of the 1500s: Continuities and Transformations. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 15, 2025-January 11, 2026).
  • {{cite web|title=A holy man prostrating himself before a learned prince|url=false|author=Manohar|year=c. 1585; border added probably 1700s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.297