Farrukh Beg served as a court painter for three Indian rulers: two emperors and the Sultan of Bijapur. This miniature, a type of small, detailed illustration bound into books, shows the Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah II, riding his horse and holding a hunting hawk. The Sultan was a poet, artist and Sunni Muslim who upheld values of religious tolerance, including Christians. His reign was cosmopolitan and prosperous. A good time to be an artist.
