Jahangir Embracing Shah Abbas
During a period of uneasy détente with Shah Abbas, the Safavid king of Iran, Jahangir dreamed the two rulers embraced—but in reality they never met. To proclaim the Mughal emperor’s superiority, the artist Abu’l Hasan cleverly manipulated symbols of sovereignty. The globe, which represents earthly rule and alludes to Jahangir’s name (World Seizer), becomes the stage for his disingenuous bear hug of the smaller, less opulently dressed shah. His lion mount even nudges the shah’s lamb back towards Iran.
Jahangir Embracing Shah Abbas
From the St. Petersburg Album Signed by Abu’l Hasan (act. 1600–30)
India, Mughal dynasty, ca. 1618
Margins by Muhammad Sadiq, Iran, dated AH 1170/1756–57 CE
Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper
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Freer Gallery of Art F1945.9
Jahangir transformed the sleeveless vest worn by generals into an imperial garment that symbolized royal authority and victory in battle. Its inclusion within this allegorical image, which was painted when Jahangir and Shah ‘Abbas were vying for control of Qandahar, suggests the Mughal emperor’s desire to control the economically and symbolically important city.
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The globe on which the two rulers stand might be the most accurate map of its time. It combines Indian knowledge of river systems with land contours mapped by the Portuguese. South Asian, European, African, and Asian cities and regions are indicated in Persian.
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