What has History got to do with Peacocks? Lots. As I search for the significance behind Peacocks to justify why the removal of the Peacock Throne was significant to the Burmese. It represents Krishna. It means wisdom. IT IS THE MUGHAL THRONE.
And Peacock Throne showed up, in Wikipedia. Remarkable.
Mughal paintings used to be my forte. Amongst them, this is one of my favourite - the Peafowl. I wrote a 8,000 word research paper on these paintings. The peafowl shown here is no larger than A5 (half an A4). The brush strokes are remarkable. Gentle, compared to the stiff brush strokes during Akbari reign. The golden colours are made by grinding gold into powder. The brush tip is no thicker than one strand of horses' hair. And only well-fed horses, specially bred for the brushes, are used. The blue is extracted from sapphires and sometimes deep-sea organisms ground or blended with chemicals. Of course you can't see it from here. Go to Cleveland Museum, you might see some. Most mughal paintings are spam-cheats. Look closely. Every strand of the peacock's feather's fuzz CAN BE SEEN. It sounds ridiculous but it's true. Painful effort.
The painters are brought to where the Mughal king hunts for leisure. He would then ask the painters to paint either the scenery or himself. If any does an unsatisfactory job, he's dismissed. Jahangiri paintings are the finest, in my opinion. They are easily distinguished by their beautiful borders. Not stiff, like Akbari. Not repetitive, like Shah Jahani. Just nicely done. The best of mughal miniatures.
Is it Ustad Mansur? He paints the most brilliant of naturalism.
