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Mirza Ghazi

Painting
ca. 1610 (made)
Artist/Maker
Manohar (People)
Place of origin
Mughal Empire (made)

This portrait of a leading figure in the Mughal empire during the reign of Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) is inscribed in Persian 'Likeness of Mirza Ghazi, son of Mirza Jani, the work of Manohar'. Mirza Ghazi and Mirza Jani belonged to a family of hereditary rulers of the province of Thatta. Mirza Jani submitted to the Mughal army under Akbar (r. 1656-1605) and became a loyal supporter of the emperor. His son was equally loyal to Jahangir and led the Mughal army in major campaigns in the early years of his reign. He was also a poet whose Persian verses the emperor greatly admired. Mirza Ghazi died in 1612.
Manohar had worked in the imperial ateliers for Akbar, and became one of Jahangir's greatest artists.
His portrait of Mirza Ghazi was copied exactly for a scene of Jahangir in a garden, surrounded by members of his court, also in the V&A (IM.9-1925).

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read The arts of the Mughal Empire The great age of Mughal art lasted from about 1580 to 1650 and spanned the reigns of three emperors: Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Hindu and Muslim artists and craftsmen from the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent worked with Iranian masters in the masculine environment of the r...

Object details

Categories
Paintings
Royalty
Portraits
Bonita Trust Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project
Object type
Painting
TitleMirza Ghazi (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Opaque Watercolour
Paper
Gold
Painted
Brief description
Painting, Mirza Ghazi, by Manohar, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1610
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mirza Ghazi is shown standing, facing right with his head slightly tilted. Inscriptions cut from a page of calligraphy are arranged in the border surrounding the small portrait on a pale green ground. The wider borders densely filled with gold flowering plants on an indigo-dyed paper are probably more or less contemporary with the painting.
Dimensions
  • Portrait only, excluding all framing borders height: 13.5cm
  • Painting only, excluding all framing borders width: 6.4cm
  • Page height: 38.8cm
  • Page width: 26.1cm
Half Imperial Mount (Portrait)
Content description
Mirza Ghazi is shown standing, facing right with his head slightly tilted.
Style
Mughal Court
Marks and inscriptions
shabih-e Mirzi Ghazi pesar-e Mirza Jani amal-e manohar (The Persian inscription is in black ink on the floral border framing the painting and the narrow border containing Persian verses)
Translation
Likeness of Mirzi Ghazi, the son of Mirza Jani, the work of Manohar
Gallery label
(27/9/2013)
Mirza Ghazi’s father had been close to the emperor Akbar, and Mirza Ghazi himself was one of Jahangir’s most trusted military leaders. He was a poet of some renown, as Jahangir notes in his memoirs. Manohar, who painted his portrait, has included exactly the same portrait, almost certainly copied by tracing it, in his painting of Jahangir and companions in a garden. The Persian inscription on the lower border records that this is the “likeness of Mirza Ghazi, the son of Mirza Jani, the work of Manohar”.

MIRZA GHAZI BEG
Opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Mughal, by Manohar
c. 1610-12 with contemporary borders
IM.118-1921
From the Wantage Album
The painting is inscribed in Persian, ‘A likeness of Mirza Ghazi, son of Mirza Jani, the work
of Manohar’. Mirza Jani’s family originally came from Central Asia, but had ruled the province of Thatta in present-day Pakistan for several generations. He had been a trusted ally of Akbar, and his son similarly supported Jahangir. Manohar was one of Jahangir’s leading artists.

Credit line
Bequeathed by Lady Wantage
Object history
Part of the bequest of the Right Honourable Harriet Sarah Baroness Wantage, of Locking House, Wantage Berks, widow of the first and last Baron Wantage, V.C., K.C.B., V.D.

R.P. 1920-8342, 1920-5869, 1921-3081, 1921-177
Subjects depicted
Man
Flowers
Calligraphy
Ruler
Mirza Ghazi
Summary
This portrait of a leading figure in the Mughal empire during the reign of Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) is inscribed in Persian 'Likeness of Mirza Ghazi, son of Mirza Jani, the work of Manohar'. Mirza Ghazi and Mirza Jani belonged to a family of hereditary rulers of the province of Thatta. Mirza Jani submitted to the Mughal army under Akbar (r. 1656-1605) and became a loyal supporter of the emperor. His son was equally loyal to Jahangir and led the Mughal army in major campaigns in the early years of his reign. He was also a poet whose Persian verses the emperor greatly admired. Mirza Ghazi died in 1612.
Manohar had worked in the imperial ateliers for Akbar, and became one of Jahangir's greatest artists.
His portrait of Mirza Ghazi was copied exactly for a scene of Jahangir in a garden, surrounded by members of his court, also in the V&A (IM.9-1925).
Bibliographic references
  • Susan Stronge, Painting for the Mughal emperor. The art of the book 1560-1650, V&A Publications, London 2002, plate 88, page 123.
  • Clarke, C. Stanley; Indian Drawings: Thirty Mogul Paintings of the School of Jehangir and Four Panels of Calligraphy ini the Wantage Bequest. London 1922 No. 13, pl. 11
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
IM.118-1921

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Record createdMarch 3, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O109866/mirza-ghazi-painting-manohar/
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