Artwork Page for Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah (1614-74) on Horseback

Details / Information for Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah (1614-74) on Horseback

Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah (1614-74) on Horseback

c. 1635

Southern India, Golconda

Medium
Ink, watercolor, and gold on paper, mounted with gold-sprinkled borders
Credit Line
Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.287
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Specks of gold are sprinkled around the edges of this portrait.

Description

Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah came to the throne of Golconda at the age of twelve and ruled until 1635 when the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan invaded the Deccan. Although Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah kept his position, he did so under conditions named by Shah Jahan that included the payment of tribute money, conversion to Sunni Islam, and the presence of a Mughal political agent at the Golconda court.

In this watercolor portrait, executed with subdued colors that complement the gold accents, the young Sultan wears a diaphanous shawl over his richly embroidered robe. His horse is almost as lavishly dressed in decorative trappings and jewels as his rider.
A vertically oriented ink and watercolor painting on tan paper depicts Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah, a man with a medium skin tone and a mustache, riding a brown horse across a sparse landscape. Facing our right, he wears a blue-green tunic featuring gold floral patterns over a long gold sash. A black plume rises from his turban. The horse features a floral saddlecloth and tasseled bridle. Small plants and blue sky ground the composition.

Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah (1614-74) on Horseback

c. 1635

Southern India, Golconda

See Also

  • Collection
    Indian
  • Department
    Indian and Southeast Asian Art
  • Type of artwork
    Painting
  • Medium
    Ink on paper
  • Credit line
    Gift In Honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by Exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection

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