The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 16, 2025

Vertically oriented painting of Nur Jahan, a woman with medium-light skin tone, in full-body profile holding to our left a portrait of Emperor Jahangir, a man with medium-light skin tone and greyed mustache, in profile from the shoulders up. Black hair pulled back under a sheer orange wrap, Nur Jahan sits against a green background. Nur Jahan wears beaded necklaces over a sheer, white top, extending into a skirt with blue pin-striped trousers underneath. A pattern of white flower with yellow leaf against dark blue forms a border.

Nur Jahan holding a portrait of Emperor Jahangir

c. 1627

attributed to Bishandas

(Indian)
Mughal India
gum tempera and gold on paper
Painting only: 13.6 x 6.4 cm (5 3/8 x 2 1/2 in.); Page: 30 x 22.1 cm (11 13/16 x 8 11/16 in.)
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 2013.325
Location: 010 Focus Gallery

Did You Know?

Jahangir died at 58, outliving his younger brothers by about 25 years.

Description

A woman identified as the favorite wife of the Mughal emperor Jahangir (reigned 1605–27) holds a formal portrait of her husband. He appears aged with graying facial hair behind the jharokha carpet that marks imperial presence.

This painting may be modeled on a work depicting Jahangir holding a portrait of his deceased father, showing himself to be the legitimate successor. Nur Jahan, who handled most of the affairs of state, hoped to remain in power after his death. She is depicted in her idealized youth, since she would have been 50 years old when Jahangir died.
  • ?-1969
    (Maggs Brothers, London, UK, sold to Ralph Benkaim)
    1969–2013
    Ralph Benkaim [1914–2001] and Catherine Glynn Benkaim [b. 1946], Beverly Hills, CA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2013–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Beach, Milo Cleveland, Stuart Cary Welch, and Glenn D. Lowry. The Grand Mogul: Imperial Painting in India, 1600-1660. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1978. cat. no. 57
    Vaughan, Philippa. "Begams of the House of Timur and the Dynastic Image." In Humayun's Garden Party: Princes of the House of Timur and Early Mughal Painting, 117-134. Edited by Sheila R. Canby. Bombay: Marg Publications, 1994. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 132, fig. 13
    Komaroff, Linda, and Sheila Blair. Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2011. cat. no. 59, p. 177
    Mace, Sonya Rhie, Mohsen Ashtiany, Catherine Glynn, Pedro Moura Carvalho, Marcus Fraser, and Ruby Lal. Mughal Paintings: Art and Stories: the Cleveland Museum of Art. London: D Giles Limited, 2016. Reproduced: cat. no. 54, pp. 216, 303
    Lal, Ruby. Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan. New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, 2018. Reproduced: color plate after p. 142
    Rice, Yael and Sonja Drimmer. "How Scientists Use and Abuse Portraiture" Hyperallergic, December 11, 2020, https://hyperallergic.com/604897/how-scientists-use-and-abuse-portraiture/ hyperallergic.com
    Griswold, William M. “Recent Acquisitions (2013-20) at the Cleveland Museum of Art.” Burlington Magazine 163, no. 1414 (January 2021): 93-104. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 102, no. 19; mentioned: P. 93
    Kazmi, Nuzhat. Awrãq-E Muṣavvir: Mughal Art of Portraiture: the Intellectual Context and Content. Gurugram: Three Essays Collective, 2022. Mentioned: P. 197, 206, 219; Reproduced: plate 28
    Liebert, Emily. “Shahzia Sikander: Collective Behavior: The exhibition travels from Venice to Cleveland.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 64, no. 4 (2024): 8-9. Reproduced: p. 9; Mentioned: p. 8, 9. archive.org
  • Shahzia Sikander: Collective Behavior. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 14-June 8, 2025).
    Carpets and Canopies in Mughal India​ (Indian art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 22-September 8, 2024).
    Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 245). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 31, 2013-June 30, 2014).
    The Grand Mogul. Sterliing and Francine Clark Institute, Williamstown, MA; Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, MD; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; Asia House Gallery, New York, NY (1978-1979).
  • {{cite web|title=Nur Jahan holding a portrait of Emperor Jahangir|url=false|author=Bishandas|year=c. 1627|access-date=16 May 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.325