Chameleon (Lizard) (Reptile) (Mughal Art) (Asian) Ceramic Tile

This design features a painting of a chameleon by the seventeenth-century Mughal painter Ustad Mansur. A chameleon is a type of lizard, which are reptiles. Most chameleons can change the colour of their skins for camouflage, or to signal mood to other chameleons. There are around 200 species, living in Africa, Madagascar, Spain and Portugal, as well as across India and Sri Lanka. Chameleons are now often kept as household pets. They have a prehensile tail that can use for grabbing onto branches. The eyes of chameleons are independently mobile, but when the animals are aiming at prey, their eyes work together to focus. The original Mughal artwork was completed in 1612.