Jahangir Holding a Globe

Object Details

• Artist

  Abu'l-Hasan

• Court

  Mughal Court

• School/Tradition

  Mughal school

• Label

  Shah Jahan (1628-58) was especially concerned with transmitting a sense of his own grandeur and power; consequently, his artists concentrated on highly formalized presentations. The central portrait by the master painter Abu'l Hasan shows Shah Jahan's father, the emperor Jahangir (reigned 1605-27), holding a globe. Made after the emperor's death, it is a literal depiction of his name--Jahangir means "world seizer." Jahangir opened his account of this year in the Jahangir-nama (History of Jahangir) by describing the defeat of the rebellious Shah Jahan's troops, the activity seen here. The inscription at the right records the date as Nauroz, (New Year's Day, March 10), 1623.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Body Image (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Worlds within Worlds: Imperial Paintings from India and Iran (July 28 to September 16, 2012)

  Arts of the Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas (October 16, 2004 to January 3, 2016)

  South and South East Asian Art (May 9, 1993 to February 7, 2000)

  From Concept to Context: Approaches to Asian and Islamic Calligraphy (July 28, 1986 to February 6, 1987)

  Islamic Metalwork in the Freer Gallery of Art (September 27, 1985 to November 17, 1986)

  The Imperial Image: Painting for the Mughal Court (September 25, 1981 to 30 March 1982)

  Indian Art (January 1, 1963 to January 28, 1981)

• Origin

  India

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1620s

• Name

  Abu'l-Hasan

• Place

  India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Cats, Art, Animals, Shield, Reign of Jahangir (1605 - 1627), Globe, Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), Portraits, Kings and rulers

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Language

  Nasta?li-q script

• Object Type

  Paintings