The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah (1614-74) on Horseback

c. 1635

Southern India, Golconda

Ink, watercolor, and gold on paper, mounted with gold-sprinkled borders
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
Location: Not on view

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.
  • Collection of Hagop Kevorkian (1872–1962), New York, before 1962
    Sotheby’s London, Important Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures: The Property of the Kevorkian Foundation, 12 April 1976, lot 137
    Christie’s, London, Islamic Art and Indian Miniatures, 15 October 1996, lot. 10
    Spink and Son, London, 2001
  • Indian Gallery 242 Rotation – April-November 2018. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (April 2-November 18, 2018).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (7/31/2016-10/23/2016); Art and Stories from Mughal India, cat. 55, p. 242.
  • {{cite web|title=Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah (1614-74) on Horseback|url=false|author=|year=c. 1635|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.287