Jahangir receives Prince Khurram on his return from the Deccan (10 October 1617) c. 1630 - 1650
Painting in opaque watercolour including metallic paints. | 30.9 x 20.8 cm (image) | RCIN 1005025.i
Ramdas
Master: Padshahnamah ?????????? (The Book of Emperors) ?? Item: Jahangir receives Prince Khurram on his return from the Deccan (10 October 1617) c. 1630 - 1650
Ramdas
Master: Padshahnamah پادشاهنامه (The Book of Emperors) Item: Jahangir receives Prince Khurram on his return from the Deccan (10 October 1617) c. 1630 - 1650
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Padshahnamah fol. 48v
(plate 8)
Mughal courtiers and musicians during a durbar ceremony.
This painting appears in the Padshahnamah manuscript opposite a scene depicting Emperor Jahangir receiving Prince Khurram (the future Shah-Jahan) in Mandu on his return from Deccan. It depicts the imperial elephant and royal standard that accompanied the prince’s entrance to the court and gift horses in embroidered trappings. Among the courtiers in attendance are representatives from Iran, Central Asia and Ottoman Turkey.
At the top centre of the painting is the nawbat, the official orchestra which provided a constant aural accompaniment to the Mughal durbar ceremony, a sound described by the 17th century French traveller Francois Bernier as ‘solemn, grand, [and] melodious’. The instruments comprise the naqqara (kettledrums), karna (long, straight trumpets) and surna (short, double reed instruments).
The artist Ramdas discretely signed the work in Devanagari script in the bottom left corner on a firework holder carried by an attendant: ‘the work of Ramdas’.
Bibliography:
Milo Beach and Ebba Koch, King of the world : the Padshahnama, an imperial Mughal manuscript from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, 1996
Saqib Baburi, Beyond the Akbarnamah: Padshahnamahs and Official Regnal Chronography for Shah-Jahan Padshah (r. 1037/1628-1068/1658), 2010.Provenance
Illustration from a Padshahnamah manuscript formerly in the Mughal imperial library and acquired by Asaf al-Dawlah, Nawab of Awadh, c.1780-90; presented by Saadat Ali Khan, Nawab of Awadh, to George III via Lord Teignmouth in June 1799.
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Creator(s)
(illustrator)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Painting in opaque watercolour including metallic paints.
Measurements
30.9 x 20.8 cm (image)
58.3 x 36.8 cm (page dimensions)
Category
