Artwork Page for Husain Ali Khan Entertaining His Brothers (The Sayyid Brothers)

Details / Information for Husain Ali Khan Entertaining His Brothers (The Sayyid Brothers)

Husain Ali Khan Entertaining His Brothers (The Sayyid Brothers)

c. 1712–19

India, Mughal Dynasty

(1526-1756)
Medium
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Measurements
Page: 30.8 x 30.5 cm (12 1/8 x 12 in.)
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 2013.334
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The man shown smoking a hookah is the Mughal imperial ruler.

Description

The shrewd imperial oligarch smoking the hookah and his brothers ran the Mughal government after the death of Emperor Alamgir in 1707 until the rise of Emperor Muhammad Shah in 1719. They were ruthless, self-serving kingmakers who caused the assassinations and accessions of six different members of the royal family to the Mughal throne in Delhi. The two attendants behind him exchange a worried glance, and the rare use of a flat gray sky behind the white marble terrace suggests the artist’s mood about the future strength and prosperity of the empire.
A horizontally oriented gum tempera and ink painting features Husain Ali Khan, a man with a medium-light skin tone, seated on a yellow patterned rug. He wears white and holds a long hookah pipe. Six men in white garments sit around him on a terrace against a dark gray background. Three standing attendants observe from the sides. Below a white lattice railing, a rectangular fountain pool sits centered above a floral garden.

Husain Ali Khan Entertaining His Brothers (The Sayyid Brothers)

c. 1712–19

India, Mughal Dynasty (1526-1756)

See Also

  • Collection
    Indian
  • Department
    Indian and Southeast Asian Art
  • Type of artwork
    Painting
  • Medium
    Tempera
  • 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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