Twilight of the Sultanate c16.s2.1

c16.s2.1

About the art of painting during this period little is known. The Sultans of pre-Mughal India were great builders, but they do not seem to have had much liking for paintings. The Hadīs forbids painting of all human forms, and thus places a ban on the development of this art.⁵² Moreover, paintings either on paper or in plaster are not as durable as sculptures in stone, and when most of even the stone edifices of these times have been reduced to a dilapidated state, it is fruitless to search for any contemporary paintings. Even so we cannot say that the art of painting had ceased to exist. Ibn Battūta appreciated the "strikingly beautiful paintings and mosaic" of the palace of Hazār Sitūn.⁵³ We also know that Fīrōz Tughlaq forbade paintings on buildings, which shows that they were a common feature. But not much can be said about this art in this period.