Painting thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Painting

ca. 1610 - ca. 1620 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This painting from the collection of Sir William Rothenstein (1872-1945) depicts a leading wrestler at the court of the Mughal emperor Jahangir (r. 1605-1627). Jahangir's inscription to the right of the portrait identifies it as the work of the artist Manohar, and the subject as a court wrestler who had been given the honorific name 'Fil-e safid', or White Elephant.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour on paper, with gold on border
Brief description
Painting, Mughal court wrestler, by Manohar, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1610-1620, mounted on later album page
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper, with gold on border, depicting a Mughal courtier, a wrestler nicknamed 'the white elephant'. He stands against a plain green ground on paper mounted on a later album page. His face faces three-quarters to the front, facing right; his feet are shown in profile and his shoulders tilt slightly to the right. His stocky figure is clad in a white turban, white muslin jama and deep pink trousers. He wears two sashes.
Dimensions
  • Painting excl. all borders height: 21.7cm
  • Painting, excluding all borders width: 13.2cm
Content description
A Mughal courtier, a wrestler nicknamed 'the white elephant'. He stands against a plain green ground on paper mounted on a later album page. His face faces three-quarters to the front, facing right; his feet are shown in profile and his shoulders tilt slightly to the right. His stocky figure is clad in a white turban, white muslin jama and deep pink trousers. He wears two sashes.
Style
Marks and inscriptions
(handwritten on object)
Translation
'likeness of the wrestler 'white elephant', by [amal = work of] Manohar Jahangir Shahi, ie in the service of Jahangir'
Transliteration
'shabih-e fil-e safid kushti gir, amal-e manohar jahangir shahi'
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of Lady Rothenstein and Art Fund
Object history
From the collecton of Sir William Rothenstein.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This painting from the collection of Sir William Rothenstein (1872-1945) depicts a leading wrestler at the court of the Mughal emperor Jahangir (r. 1605-1627). Jahangir's inscription to the right of the portrait identifies it as the work of the artist Manohar, and the subject as a court wrestler who had been given the honorific name 'Fil-e safid', or White Elephant.
Associated object
Bibliographic reference
Susan Stronge, Painting for the Mughal Emperor, V&A Publications 2002, pl. 109, p. 141.
Collection
Accession number
IS.217-1951

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
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