Relief with a Floral Decoration

Stone wall panels ornamented with natural motifs decorated the walls of many Mughal architectural monuments. The Mughals delighted in observing nature, which resulted in the representation of flora and fauna in many different mediums. This panel, which has a pendant panel at the Louvre, was made in the late Mughal period, and thus eschews the symmetry of previous designs. It instead displays a fanciful representation of irises blooming out of wind-tossed banana leaves, which in turn spring from a triple corolla of acanthus leaves. The mottled red sandstone is typical of the Mathura, Sikri, and Chunar regions of north India.