Collection Online as of March 28, 2023

Portrait of Murad Bakhsh (1624–1661)

c. 1635; borders c. 1700s

attributed to Balchand

(Indian, active 1595–c. 1650)

Mughal India, court of Shah Jahan

(reigned 1628–58)

Gum tempera and gold on paper

Page: 28.4 x 25.7 cm (11 3/16 x 10 1/8 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 2013.327

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

This portrait belonged to a cousin of Sir Winston Churchill.

Description

The miniature portrait of a Mughal prince is now mounted on an album page. Originally, it was in a gemstone setting as a “portrait jewel” to be worn by family and supporters at court. India’s ruling elite had been wearing portrait jewels since Sir Thomas Rowe (about 1581–1655) presented British portrait miniatures and cameos to the Mughal emperor as part of a diplomatic gift in 1616, when he successfully negotiated for British access to India’s ports.

Provenance

Capt. E. G. Spencer-Churchill [1876–1964], Northwick Park, Gloucestershire, England

(Christie’s, London, The Northwick Park Collection: The Property of the late Captain E. G. Spencer-Churchill, MC, 24 June 1965, lot 9)

1965–September 1986

Robert Moore, Los Angeles, CA, to Ralph Benkaim and Catherine Glynn Benkaim

1986–2001

Ralph Benkaim [1914–2001] and Catherine Glynn Benkaim [b. 1946], Beverly Hills, CA

2001–2013

Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer, Beverly Hills, CA, partial sale and gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art

2013–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

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. 60, p. 226

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. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 57, p. 231

Exhibition history

Gifts of the Sultan. Los Angeles Count Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Museum of Islamic Art, Doha (2011–2012).

Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).