f. 21
Recto:

A Mughal Lady (possibly Farzana Begum) c. 1650

A Mughal lady stands facing right in a garden setting against a pale turquoise background. In her right hand she holds the stem of a poppy. She represents the ideal feminine characteristic of nazakat, ‘delicacy of demeanour’, while the red flower alludes to beauty, passion and pleasure.
Several versions of this painting exist which label the lady as Bibi Farzana or Farzana Begum, the sister of Shah-Jahan’s wife Mumtaz-Mahal. Farzana was married to Shah-Jahan’s vizier Jafar Khan and according to bazaar gossip was taken by Shah-Jahan as his mistress. A Venetian traveller to India in the late seventeenth century wrote: ‘The chief of the women, one that he [Shah-Jahan] thought a great deal of was the wife of Jafarcan [Jafar Khan], and from the love he bore her he wished to take her husband’s life, but she saved him by praying that he might be sent as governor to Patana [Patna], as was done.’

Most of the paintings in this album are generic portrayals, including an early eighteenth-century near-mirror image of this painting which faces it on the opposite page (RCIN 1005068.v). 

Verso:

Calligraphy, c. 1650.

A verse by the poet Jami written horizontally in large script surrounded by arabesque decoration against gold.


For more information on this album see RCIN 1005068.