Jahangir Holding a Globe

Maker(s)
Artist: Abu'l-Hasan
Historical period(s)
Mughal dynasty, Reign of Jahangir, 1622-1623
Movement
Mughal Court
School
Mughal School
Medium
Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 38.8 x 25.7 cm (15 1/4 x 10 1/8 in)
Geography
India
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1948.28
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Album, Painting
Type

Album leaf with painting

Keywords
battle, emperor, globe, India, lion, Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), nasta'liq script, portrait, Reign of Jahangir (1605 - 1627), shield, WWII-era provenance
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
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. 

Published References
  • Sotheby's (London). Catalogues of Valuable Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, Comprising a series of very important Indian drawings by the court painters of the great Moghul emperors, Shah Jahan and Aurangzib, the property of a gentleman. London, December 12-13, 1929. cat. 110.
  • Fu Shen, Glenn D. Lowry, Ann Yonemura, Thomas Lawton. From Concept to Context: Approaches to Asian and Islamic Calligraphy. Exh. cat. Washington. cat. 48, pp. 104, 134-135.
  • Milo Cleveland Beach. The Imperial Image: Paintings for the Mughal Court., 2nd. Washington and Ahmedabad, India, 2012. cat. 24B, pp. 144-5.
  • Priscilla P. Soucek. Persian Artists in Mughal India: Influence and Transformations. vol. 4 Leiden. p. 167, note 16.
  • Milo Cleveland Beach. The Imperial Image: Paintings for the Mughal Court. Exh. cat. Washington, 1981. cat. 18b, pp. 182, 184-185.
Collection Area(s)
South Asian and Himalayan Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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