Page from the Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds)

c. 1605–10

calligrapher

Abd al-Rahim, the Anbarin-Qalam

(Indian, active c. 1590–1630)

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Culture

Mughal India

Medium

gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper

Measurements

Page: 17.8 x 12.5 cm (7 x 4 15/16 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 2013.323.b

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Location

Not on view

Description

According to Akbar's court historian, the emperor ordered likenesses to be taken of the grandees of his realm. "An immense album was thus formed: those that have passed away have received a new life, and those who are still alive have immortality promised them." Akbar's son and successor, Jahangir (reigned 1605-27), continued the tradition of commissioning works of lifelike portraiture for inclusion in imperial albums. This courtier wears an opulent fur-trimmed, fringed velvet coat over his belted white tunic and striped pants-the typical Mughal dress derived from their roots among the nomadic horse-riding people of Central Asia. The artist has reveled in creating the soft textures of the facial hair, fur and fabrics. He holds a ruby-like gemstone called a spinel, which was prized among the Mughals for its talismanic properties of protection during battle.