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"Portrait of Raja Bikramajit (Sundar Das)", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album

Painting by Bichitr Indian
Calligrapher Mir 'Ali Haravi
recto: ca. 1620; verso: ca. 1540
Not on view
Sundar Das was a Hindu whoses ancestors had been considerable landowners. He entered the service of Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan) and in 1617 Jahangir awarded him the title of Raja Bikramajit "which among Hindus is the highest" as Jahangir wrote in his memoirs. Raja Bikramajit was a brilliant military strategist and instrumental to the success of Prince Khurram's campaigns in the Deccan. In Shah Jahan's rebellion against Jahanagir in 1623–24, Raja Bikramajit sided with the prince, and when he was killed in battle, Jahangir was unashamedly gleeful, writing "By losing him the Wretch [Shah Jahan] lost courage, as though his luck, ambition, and reason were all found up with that Hindu dog." In Bichitr's brilliant portrait, the figure positively pulses with life.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "Portrait of Raja Bikramajit (Sundar Das)", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album
  • Artist: Painting by Bichitr (Indian, active ca. 1610–60)
  • Calligrapher: Mir 'Ali Haravi (died ca. 1550)
  • Date: recto: ca. 1620; verso: ca. 1540
  • Geography: Attributed to India
  • Medium: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
  • Dimensions: H. 15 1/4 in. (38.7 cm)
    W. 10 1/8 in. (25.7 cm)
  • Classification: Codices
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Rogers Fund and The Kevorkian Foundation Gift, 1955
  • Object Number: 55.121.10.1
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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