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Mehdipour Moghaddam Z, Mohammadzadeh M. (2026). An Iconographic Study of Muharram Paintings in Colonial India Based on Erwin Panofsky’s Theory. Athar. 48(1), 147-169. doi:10.61882/Athar.2023.4068.1
URL: http://athar.richt.ir/article-2-2023-en.html

Abstract
With the rise of British rule in India under the East India Company, a new style emerged in the paintings of indigenous artists. These works were commissioned and purchased by British officials and depicted the culture of the subcontinent’s inhabitants. Of particular significance is their tendency to record and document events with religious themes, especially the Muharram rituals in India. Accordingly, this study aims to examine the role of colonial culture in shaping Muharram-related artworks in India and, based on Panofsky’s three-stage iconological approach, to uncover their hidden meanings. More specifically, what implications did the inner content of Muharram-centered paintings have during the colonial era? The aim is to interpret the underlying meaning of these works, understand their symbolic values, and examine how the religious identity of Muslims is expressed in a society influenced by colonial culture. Iconology, by identifying elements that are unconsciously present in a work, can represent the worldview of the artists’ time—that is, the time and place of the image’s creation, the prevailing culture of that period and setting, and the demands of the patrons of art. The findings of this study, conducted using historical and descriptive-analytical methods, indicate that although Britain claimed to seek only the recording of Shiite mourning rituals in India and the collection of these paintings, it in fact regarded the revival of the Ashura movement as a threat because of its potential to incite uprisings among the inhabitants of the subcontinent. Therefore, by requesting that these events be documented, it sought to control Muslim gatherings throughout India. It should be noted that indigenous artists, in creating these works, unintentionally reshaped the identity of Muslims in the colonial era by using elements of Hindu-Islamic culture. This identity, which had been weakened by British hostility and its divide-and-rule policy between Hindus and Muslims, is now attracting attention in a different way and can be regarded as a tool for unity among Shiites, Sunnis, and non-Muslims in India in opposition to colonialism.
Keywords: Colonial India, Company School, Muharram Paintings, Muslim Identity, Iconology.
 

Introduction
Throughout history, religion has been an important part of the culture and lives of the people of India (Mahmoodi, 2023: 176). Among the major religions in this multicultural society, Islam influenced the culture and art of the region for centuries. It can be said that the spread of Islam in India was closely linked to the widespread religious rituals of mourning for Imam Hossein (Razavi, 2009: 8), which became more prominent during the Mughal era (Hosseini, 2010: 72). Thus, with the fall of their empire in the first half of the nineteenth century and the establishment of British dominance over India, attention to these rituals took on a different form. Although the British policy of “divide and rule” between Hindu and Muslim groups (Rahman et al., 2018: 4) weakened Shiite power, the Muharram events did not suddenly stop. Instead, alongside their observance, painters were able to play a key role in India’s colonial discourse by representing these mourning events in paintings. Such paintings, focused on Muharram, emerged as one of the topics of interest to Europeans and were commissioned by them and by officials of the East India Company (Howes, 2014: 371). It should be noted that after British dominance over India, a new style of painting known as the “Company School” emerged, and works with Ashura themes formed part of its output, reflecting many aspects of the culture and beliefs of the people of this land.

Materials and Method
From the perspective of its objective, the present study is a developmental, qualitative study conducted using historical and descriptive-analytical methods and library-based data collection, based on Panofsky’s iconological approach. The article examines the subject matter and hidden content in paintings centered on Muharram and mourning for Imam Hussein in colonial India. In this regard, the statistical population included 10 types of paintings depicting Muharram events. To avoid repetition and similarity, and based on data saturation, four samples were selected through purposive sampling and analyzed as the study corpus.

Discussion
Based on the interpretation of the symbolic visual elements in this body of works, and in line with the prevailing culture of the time and place, it was determined that the historical and social values embedded in Figures 1–4 were shaped by Hindu-Islamic culture and thought during the colonial era. Painters, driven by the need to satisfy new patrons and influenced by Orientalist discourse in the East, naturally incorporated these elements into their works. However, the political dimension of the paintings’ content from the perspective of Company officials should not be overlooked. In fact, Britain feared Muslim power from the moment of its arrival in India and attempted to marginalize Muslims through various policies (Mohammadi & Ashrafi, 2014: 194). To implement this policy, it sought to control mourning events, the observance of which during the month of Muharram was regarded as a threat to Britain’s presence in India (Siebenga, 2013: 25). From their perspective, such events could create an opportunity for rebellion against British colonialism. Consequently, Britain sought to display its absolute superiority and dominance over the land by expressing interest in paintings with these themes and by visually representing the mourning events for Imam Hussein, which were produced at the request and desire of the officials themselves (Siebenga, 2013: 25). In this way, it aimed to control Muslim gatherings and weaken their political and social power (Das, 2014: 212). On the other hand, since the establishment of British colonial rule, Indian Muslims had lost much of their influence in society (Mohammadi & Ashrafi, 2014: 194). This led some Sunnis to agree with Shiite views regarding the holding of mourning processions (Moinuddin, 1971: 3–4). It should also be noted that Hindus respectfully participated in these mourning events (Razavi, 2009: 7). Thus, based on the evidence in the paintings, Muharram events came to be recognized as a bridge of unity and consensus between the Shiite minority and other religious groups in India under British domination (Rabbani & Barani, 2016: 68).

Conclusion
Therefore, it can be said that the pictorial representation of Muharram mourning events, based on an iconological approach, was influenced by the conventional meanings prevalent in Indian society at that time, that is, the sociocultural text shaped by the British presence and the prominence of Muslims on the Indian art scene. On the one hand, after its arrival, Britain was to some extent captivated by life and the prevailing culture in India. In the style of Company School paintings, and with the aim of entertainment, documenting historical and religious events from its own perspective, and collecting these paintings, it commissioned local painters to record and document the subjects it selected, especially Muharram events. However, what is noteworthy in this regard is Britain’s aim of dominating Indians, especially Muslims, in this land. This was because Muslims, by resisting colonialism, were trying to save India from colonial invasion, which created concern among Company officials. As a result, Britain’s first political objective was to marginalize Muslims in India in order to create division between Hindus and Muslims. In fact, the observance of mourning events for Imam Hussein was perceived by colonial authorities as an alarm bell and as an opportunity to incite uprising and foster a spirit of heroism and sacrifice among the inhabitants of India. Therefore, they sought to control Muslim gatherings by commissioning paintings with these themes, thereby aiming to destroy Muslim culture and identity and present themselves as a superior and absolute identity. Thus, as observed in the paintings, although the execution technique, use of shading, and similar aspects were shaped according to British preferences, elements of Islamic culture, influenced by Iranian Shiite culture, alongside indigenous components of Indian culture, contributed to the re-formation of Muslim identity in the colonial era. Ultimately, the creation of paintings centered on mourning for Imam Hussein, in a combined Hindu-Islamic and European style, not only drew European attention to this subject but also provided an opportunity for Shiites to defend their identity as part of Islamic identity in the colonial era. This can be considered a tool for unity among Shiites, Sunnis, and non-Muslims in India in their struggle against colonialism.