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Cameo - Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan

  • Object:

    Cameo

  • Place of origin:

    India (possibly, made)
    Pakistan (possibly, made)

  • Date:

    ca. 1630-1640 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Sardonyx

  • Museum number:

    IS.14-1974

  • Gallery location:

    South Asia, room 41, case 19

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This oval cameo is a profile portrait of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (r.1628–1658) in middle age. The anonymous craftsman has used the natural, layered characteristics of the sardonyx skilfully so that the turban, pearls and background are carved from the creamy white layer, while the thickest layer of brown has been used for the clothes and the thin, raised oval frame. A thinner layer of brown has been used for the emperor’s face. The model for the portrait was presumably a contemporary Mughal painting, but oddities of detail (notably the stiffness of the feather) may indicate that the cameo was made by a European at the Mughal court.

Physical description

Cameo portrait made of sardonyx. The emperor faces left and wears a white turban encircled by a band of pearls.

Place of Origin

India (possibly, made)
Pakistan (possibly, made)

Date

ca. 1630-1640 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Sardonyx

Dimensions

Height: 2.3 cm, Width: 2 cm

Object history note

The cameo is probably the work of a European employed at the Mughal court as Shah Jahan is depicted with European features, and the feather plume projects stiffly from his turban at an odd angle, rather than curving downwards as seen in contemporary Mughal painting.

Historical significance: Only two other cameos depicting Shah Jahan are known. One is in the Bibliotheque Nationale (see The Indian Heritage. Court Life under Mughal Rule, V&A 1982, cat. 377); the second was sold at Christie's London and is now in the collection of Sheikh Naser al-Sabah in Kuwait.

Descriptive line

Cameo portrait of Shah Jahan by a European working in Mughal India, ca. 1630.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Swallow, Deborah and John Guy eds. Arts of India: 1550-1900. text by Rosemary Crill, John Guy, Veronica Murphy, Susan Stronge and Deborah Swallow. London : V&A Publications, 1990. 240 p., ill. ISBN 1851770224, p.95, no.74.
Robert Skelton, in The Indian Heritage. Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule, V&A, 1982, cat. 369, p.120, ISBN 0906969263.

Exhibition History

The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule (Victoria and Albert Museum 01/01/1982-31/12/1982)

Subjects depicted

Portraits; Shah Jahan

Categories

Portraits

Collection code

SSEA

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Qr_O16062
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