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"Shah Jahan on a Terrace, Holding a Pendant Set With His Portrait", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album

Painted by Chitarman Indian
recto: dated 1627–28; verso: ca. 1530–50
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 463
The presentation of the emperor amplifies the formula evolved during the reigns of Akbar and Jahangir. Shah Jahan is exquisitely dressed and richly adorned with jewels, his imperial rank emphasized by his radiating halo and the hovering angels borrowed from European art. The skills of many craftsmen and designers of the Mughal court—jewelers, weavers, architects, feather workers, armorers, stonecutters, and others—are represented here. This is Chitarman’s earliest dated picture, painted soon after Shah Jahan’s accession.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "Shah Jahan on a Terrace, Holding a Pendant Set With His Portrait", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album
  • Artist: Painted by Chitarman (Indian, active ca. 1627–70)
  • Date: recto: dated 1627–28; verso: ca. 1530–50
  • Geography: Attributed to India
  • Medium: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
  • Dimensions: H. 15 5/16 in. (38.9 cm)
    W. 10 1/8 in. (25.7 cm)
  • Classification: Codices
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Rogers Fund and The Kevorkian Foundation Gift, 1955
  • Object Number: 55.121.10.24
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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