Irish Arts Review

Mughal and Other Indian Paintings from the Chester Beatty Collection by Linda York LeachReview by: Winifred GloverIrish Arts Review Yearbook, Vol. 14 (1998), pp. 191-192Published by: Irish Arts ReviewStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20493019 .

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BOOK REVIEWS

PRINCE WILLIAM AND THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND

IN COSTUME for a performance of Thomas Moore's

Lalla Rookh: an oriental romance (1822) from

Maynooth Library: Treasures from the Collections of St Patrick's College edited by Agnes Neligan. 'While

more than half of the Collection relates to theology,

the rest owes much to scholarly clerical benefactors

with wide-ranging interests...'

relates to theology, the remainder owes much to scholarly clerical benefactors with wide ranging interests who col lected works on antiquities, topography and travel. The fine library building

designed by Pugin in 1846 was the main

library from 1860 to 1984; it is now the

Research Library and is called The

Russell Library after College President Charles Russell, uncle of the great lawyer

Lord Russell of Killowen. A noted nine

teenth-century bibliophile and polymath, Russell's collection came to the College on his death. The Furlong Collection, bequeathed in 1993, and other impor

tant additions, came from the collection

of Sean Corkery, Librarian 1951-73.

In her essay on 'books, rich, rare and

curious,' Penelope Woods gives an inter

esting example of how the collection was

astutely formed. We learn that one

Jenico Preston, writing from Flanders in 1802 to Archbishop Troy of Dublin,

offered to buy books for the new library.

This was a time of revolution on the con

tinent and many fine libraries were being

dispersed. With great practicality, he sug gested that the newly acquired books

should be first sent to the Lord

Lieutenant thereby avoiding import duty! Subsequently we learn that he did indeed

purchase many fine books for the library.

The Gaelic manuscripts at Maynooth

are mainly from a collection almost as old

as the college itself. Compiled between

1816 and 1819 at the behest of the bib

liophile Bishop of Cork, John Murphy, they were bequeathed by him in 1848.

One of the great Irish cultural losses of

the twentieth century has been the clo

sure of the Irish continental ecclesiasti

cal colleges except for the college at

Rome. The story of Hiberno-Hispanic

relations can be studied better than any

where else at Maynooth because of the

great depository of the Salamanca

archive which came to Maynooth in

1951 when the Irish College of

Salamanca closed. Provisions made for

Irish Roman Catholic education by King

Philip II of Spain culminated in the

establishment of the Irish College at

Salamanca in 1592, the same year as the

founding of Trinity College Dublin. On

the closure of Salamanca over 50,000

documents came to Maynooth Library, covering the period form 1592 to 1951.

This material is of inestimable value to

the study of Irish history.

The final essays in this well con

structed and illustrated book deal with pamphlets and plans. The designs of sev

eral architects connected with the build ing of Maynooth are treated of.

Especially interesting are those by A W N Pugin and J j McCarthy, who

was to follow Pugin as a designer of the

buildings of Maynooth, the triumphant culmination of his work being the mag

nificent College Chapel, the Sainte Chapelle of Ireland!

JOHN GILMARTIN is a lecturer in History of Art in the Dublin Institute of Technology School of Art and Design

Mughal and Other Indian paintings from the Chester Beatty Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..................

BY LINDA YORK LEACH

Scorpion Cavendish, London, 1996.

2 vols. (h/b) ?250 ...............................................................................

Winifred Glover

THESE TWO lavishly illustrated volumes are a very comprehensive and scholarly account of the splendid collection of

Mughal Empire and other Indian paint ings in the Chester Beatty Library, and

indeed, of Indian painting in general.

Volume One covers paintings from Akbar's reign up to 1600; paintings from 1600 and 1615; imperial paintings from 1615 to 1658 and Mughal paintings from

1658 to 1760. Volume Two covers the

sub-imperial paintings from 1590 to 1750; provincial Mughal paintings of the eighteenth century; company-style paintings; late Mughal paintings from about 1780 to 1860; paintings of the

Deccan and Kashmir; paintings of

Rajasthan, Central and Western India and miniatures from the Himalayan

foothills. Included are biographies of painters and a full bibliography and

index. In addition, all the paintings pos

sessed by the Chester Beatty Library are

listed in a concordance at the back.

The range of subject matter of these

paintings is breathtaking. It seems as if

every facet of religious and courtly life is

illustrated. The paintings provide a

panoramic view of the great Mughal

Empire which was founded by Babur in

the first quarter of the sixteenth century

and lasted until Bahadur Shah II, the

last Mughal emperor, was deposed and

went into exile in Burma in 1858. All

the Mughal emperors were patrons of

the arts and the style of paintings pro

duced during their reigns reflects their

influence and interests. Famous names

from history such as Akbar (1542-1605),

probably the greatest Mughal Emperor of

India, who extended his rule over most

of India, provide some of the most

attractive inspirations for the courtly

painter. His reign was notable for racial

and religious tolerance. Although Akbar

worshipped Islam, he won the loyalty of

his non-Muslim subjects and took an

active interest in many other religions,

including Christianity. Most importantly, he encouraged scholars, poets, painters

and musicians.

Among many outstanding works of

Akbar's reign, the Akbar Nama is one of

the most appealing. The Chester Beatty

Library is fortunate indeed to have a sub

stantial portion of this great contempo

rary illustrated celebration of his life

191

IRISH ARTS REVIEW

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BOOK REVIEWS

which was painted towards its end. We

are able to see great state occasions such

as Akbar's coronation, Madhu (2.93), Akbar receives congratulations on the birth of Murad, Dharm Das (2.123m 2.124),

and more informal ones such as Akbar

welcomes his mother, Dhanraj (2.101). There is tremendous movement and colour in the narrative of many of the

paintings. A most attractive example of

this is the joyous Celebrations of the birth

of Salim, La'l (2.122) with musicians,

dancing girls performing and courtiers handing out bread and coins to the

assembled populace, while astrologers sit in the background discussing the horo scope of the baby prince.

Akbar takes the fort of Mankot, La'l

(2.102) reminds us that he was a great

military strategist. The death of Adham

Khan (2.156) shows that even such an

enlightened ruler as Akbar needed to be

ruthless to assert his authority over trai

torous members of his court and protect

himself from their intrigues. Akbar's son Salim Jehangir continued

his father's tradition. Under the influ

ence of his wife, he encouraged Persian

culture in Mughal India and this is

reflected in paintings produced during his reign. He also continued the liberal

traditions of his father and encouraged

dialogue between those of other religions and his own court. Conventional

Christian subjects such as the Madonna

and Child (2.166), The Virgin and an

Angel (2.167) and the portrait AJesuit

(2.165) appear alongside more unex

pected scenes such as Salim kills rhinocer

oses and a lion, Allahabad (2.169).

Sometimes the sly humour of the artist

points up an unflattering side of the

Emperor. Jahangir was a heavy drinker

and opium eater. The painting Jahangir

celebrates holi (3.14) shows a befuddled

king being supported by two women

beside a bed while an over-excited group

of maidens play instruments, dance and

spray each other with coloured water

and powdered paint.

These two volumes are an invaluable

source for the scholar and a delight for

the more general reader. The illustra

tions are almost as good as seeing the

actual paintings in the Chester Beatty

Library and it is splendid that greater

access to some of the magnificent trea

sures of the Indian sub-continent has been provided by these books for the

enjoyment of all.

WINIFRED GLOVER is Curator of Ethnography in the Ulster Museum

Hazel: A Life of Lady Lavery 1880-1935 BY SINEAD MCCOOLE ...............................................................................

Lilliput Press, 1996. (h/b) L25; (p/b) ?15.

242pp. 4col. 45b/w ills. 1-874675-84-8. (h/b);

1-874675-55-4. (p/b)

Mary Breasted

So MANY among the holy of holies have

fallen from grace in Ireland in the last

decade that I do not know whether the

country can take another shock to its

mythology. But here it is: Lady Lavery

was born in Chicago. Worse still, the

slim and soulfully triste beauty whose

face graced the first bank notes of inde

pendent Ireland as the penultimate face

of Erin, was raised an Episcopalian, the

American equivalent of the Church of Ireland and incontestably Protestant.

Her Catholicism and her Irishness all

came later, after she had abandoned

America and her American accent in

service of a classier identity.

But never mind that. Hazel Lavery

was passionate about Ireland and all

things Irish, and if her conversion

allowed her to attend Mass every morn

ing with one Michael Collins when he

was over in London for the Treaty nego

tiations, then so much the better for her

soul. Who am I to judge how a great

beauty finds her way to God?

Although I must say that reading

Sinead McCoole's biography of Lady

Lavery does tempt one to question the

woman's spirituality from time to time.

That is but one of the many subversive

pleasures offered in this fascinating book,

compiled from the letters of Lady Lavery,

her husband and scores of their famous

contemporaries as well as from inter

views with Lady Lavery's daughter, the

late Alice Gwynn, and numerous other

notables familiar with the subject. The

volume is thoroughly annotated and equipped with an excellent index, a

scholarly aid sadly disappearing from current American biographies.

Ms McCoole writes simply and clearly,

making no attempt to get in the way of

her fabulous material, which is often fun

nier than the illustrious Hazel might have

wished us to think. By deft selection, the author has created a delicious read out of

substantial scholarly research providing those of us who love really good gossip

with wicked satisfaction while also enabling us to acquire brownie points in

solemn historical knowledge that can be

trotted out during stilted discussions about the origins of the Republic.

My only complaint is that the book

does not tell us precisely how Lady

Lavery figured in the Treaty negotia

tions. Ms McCoole tells us that she ran

a sort of political salon in her home

which was a crucial meeting ground for

all the relevant officials, and numerous

letters are quoted indicating that she

served as a messenger and often pallia

tor between British politicians and Irish

rebels. Ms McCoole provides ample evi

dence that Hazel and her husband were

opposed to violence and sympathetic to

the cause of Irish nationalism. But

whether Hazel Lavery gets the credit (or

the blame) for persuading Michael

Collins to sign the Treaty is a question

not finally settled in the book.

Nor does the book settle the prurient

question as to whether or not Lady

Lavery and Michael Collins were physi

cally intimate, although their letters to

each other, amply quoted in the volume,

would lead us to believe they were. But

Hazel Lavery was a particularly gushy

woman, given to large enthusiasms and

worshipful emotions, most especially towards those of the male persuasion,

particularly if they were famous or pow

erful, or better yet, both. She was, in

other words, a groupie, who developed d

crushes on english Prime Ministers as

well as Irish revolutionaries, and

groupies, as we all know, are often satis

fied with a mere autograph. In fairness to her, it must also be said

that she was a person of uncommon

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IRISH ARTS REVIEW

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