Discover Top Posts Tagged with #deccan

A Pink Tulip, possibly by the master of the borders, Mughal India, Possibly Deccan, mid-17th century.

#indian art #asian art #antique art #south asian art #bharat #mughal #deccan #tulip #botanical art #vintage illustration #naturecore #gold #gold art #uploads

Shiite Talismanic Pilgrimage Scroll

India, probably Deccan, 1787–88

opaque watercolour, black and red ink, and gold on paper; mounted on cloth backing

This monumental scroll measuring more than 900 x 50 cm depicts several major Muslim holy sites, such as the sanctuary of the Ka‘ba and other pilgrimage stops of the Hajj in and around Mecca, as well as Medina, Jerusalem, Karbala, and Najaf. Arranged vertically, these buildings and sites are all oriented towards the Great Mosque in Mecca with the Ka‘ba at the centre; in this manner, the Ka‘ba functions like a magnetic pulse located in the first third of the scroll. Two visual sequences—one starting at the beginning of the scroll marked by a colophon cartouche, and the other at the end of the scroll marked by a calligram (here, a human figure made of calligraphy)—comprise its composition. This scroll has previously been thought to be a Hajj certificate, a document affirming that an identified individual or his/her representative has fulfilled the Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca and surrounding sites. However, recent research confirms that a considerable portion of the visual repertoire and its inscriptions was composed to increase magic and talismanic functions of this scroll within a clear Shiite context.

#Islam #religion #India #deccan #18th century #1780s #watercolour #ink #gold #talisman #pilgrimage #artifacts #history

Pichhwai for Gopashtami (The Festival of Cows)

Late 18th century, India (likely Deccan, Aurangabad)

#art #textiles #pichhwais #textile design #pichhwai #festival of cows #gopashtami #cows #cow art #krishna #deccan #india #indian art #met museum #asian art

Unknown, Two Girls Dancing Deccan, Aurangabad 1700 opaque watercolor on paper, heightened with gold

#unknown #indian art #girls dancing #painting #1700s #deccan

Throwback Thursday: Deccan Traps

About 66.25 Ma a series of fissures erupted spewing lava for a half a million square miles (1.5 million km2). During the Cretaceous, India was an isolated landmass just drifting across the Tethys Ocean. It had broken off of Gondwana during the Jurassic Period. It was connected to Madagascar and Seychelles right up until the Deccan Traps erupted. Coincidence? I think not!

The eruptions occurred over a time span of about 600-800,000 years crossing right over the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction. There are a couple of ideas on how the Deccan Traps formed either due to rifting of the seafloor or a mantle plume. Most data seem to point toward the mantle plume hypothesis. In the Indian Ocean currently situated under the Mascarene Islands is the Réunion Hotspot.

India would have passed right over it during the Late Cretaceous. Regional crustal thinning in the area could encourage the rise of the mantle plume. When comparing the Na8, Fe8, and Si8 contents of the Deccan to other major igneous provinces, the Deccan appears to have undergone the greatest degree of melting suggesting a deep plume origin.

The motion of the Indian tectonic plate and the eruptive history of the Deccan traps show strong correlations. Based on data from marine magnetic profiles, a pulse of unusually rapid plate motion began at the same time as the first pulse of Deccan flood basalts, which is dated at 67 million years ago. The spreading rate rapidly increased and reached a maximum at the same time as the peak basaltic eruptions. The spreading rate then dropped off, with the decrease occurring around 63 million years ago, by which time the main phase of Deccan volcanism ended. This correlation is seen as driven by plume dynamics.

As stated in last week’s Monday Musings, many LIPS have been correlated with extraterrestrial impact events. Although the Deccan Traps began erupting well before the impact, in a 2015 study it was proposed based on argon–argon dating that the impact may have caused an increase in permeability that allowed magma to reach the surface and produced the most voluminous flows, accounting for around 70% of the volume.

Whether it played a part in the greater extinction event or not, the Traps certainly had a catastrophic effect on the flora and fauna of the Indian subcontinent. Almost all vertebrate lineages were driven to extinction. Only three extant tetrapod groups can be verified as having Gondwanan ties: one family of frogs,