Emperor Aurangzeb in a Shaft of Light with later floral border from The St. Petersburg Album

Object Details

• Artist

  Attributed to Hunhar

• Borders

  Muhammad Baqir (mid-18th century)

  Muhammad-Hadi

• Calligrapher

  Imad al-Hasani (died 1615)

• Court

  Mughal Court

• School/Tradition

  Mughal school

• Label

  The garden setting may be a reference to Agharabad (later called Shalimar), an imperial garden eight miles northwest of Delhi which contained some fine imperial buildings. It was in this garden that Aurangzeb declared himself emperor and celebrated his first coronation (21 July 1658). This painting appears to depict the response of heaven to Aurangzeb's declaration. It can be seen as Aurangzeb's apotheosis, and the borrowed elements copied from a European religious print only helped the artist to heighten the otherworldly perspective.

  Aurangzeb's second coronation was celebrated nearly one year later (5 June 1659) after his triumph in the War of Succession was nearly complete. This second, or real, coronation was celebrated at the imperial seat of power in the Red Fort at Delhi. In contrast to the modest first event, the second coronation was the most splendid ever celebrated by a Mughal emperor. The festivities lasted for more than two months.

  The triumphal symbolism that marked the second imperial coronation is also reflected in the unusual iconography of the present picture. The moon and the light it casts--the only charged element in the painting--are central to its meaning in several ways. The moon isolates and aggrandizes Aurangzeb, the sole figure upon which it shines.

• Provenance

  To 1739

  Mughal Imperial Library, India, to 1739 [1]

  To late 19th century

  Persian Imperial Library, to late 19th century [2]

  Private European collection (possibly Russian Imperial Library) [3]

  To 1996

  Terence McInerney Fine Arts Ltd., New York City, to 1996

  From 1996

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Terence McInerney Fine Arts Ltd. in 1996

  Notes:

  [1] Indian paintings in the St. Petersburg Album left India in 1739 with the loot taken to Iran by Nadir Shah, following his sack of Delhi.

  The pages left Tehran in the early 1900s and were dispersed into European collections, including that of Tsar Nicholas II (according to Curatorial Note 4, Milo C. Beach, February 26, 1996, in the object record). See also the object record for F1994.4, Curatorial Note 5, Milo C. Beach, March 4, 1994.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Beyond the Legacy--Anniversary Acquisitions of the Freer Gallery of Art (October 11, 1998 to April 11, 1999)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Mughal Library

  Imperial Library (Tehran)

  Terence McInerney Fine Arts, Ltd. (active 1990-2013)

• 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

  1650s, 1760s

• Name

  Imperial Library (Tehran), McInerney, Terence, Mughal Library

• Place

  India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Libra, Moon, Outer space, Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), Portraits, Poetry, Flowers, Kings and rulers, Vina

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Language

  Nasta?li-q script

• Object Type

  Paintings