Maharana of Mewar and Prince Khurram thumbnail 1
Maharana of Mewar and Prince Khurram thumbnail 2
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Maharana of Mewar and Prince Khurram

Painting
ca. 1615-18 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This scene, probably done between about 1615 and 1618, depicts the submission of the ruler of Mewar in Rajasthan to Shah Jahan, the son of the reigning Mughal emperor Jahangir (r. 1605-1627). The ruler, Rana Amar Singh, had long held out against the Mughal forces but after a lengthy campaign directed by Shah Jahan was forced to surrender in 1615. The artist, Nanha, has included himself kneeling at the right of the scene, sketching a portrait of the Rana. The picture was made to illustrate the Jahangirnama ("Book of Jahangir"), the memoirs written in Persian by Jahangir, as indicated by the catchword isolated against the white muslin jama of the man depicted in the bottom left hand corner, which would be repeated as the first word of the following page. Although Jahangir intended to have various illustrated copies made of his book, none are known to survive.

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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
Object type
TitleMaharana of Mewar and Prince Khurram (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Brief description
Painting, submission of Rana Amar Singh to Shah Jahan in 1615, by Nanha, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1618
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Prince Khurram is at the centre of the composition, kneeling on a rectangular throne beneath a red and yellow canopy within an enclosure of red qanats (channels). The bare-footed Rana bows submissively before the prince, touching his knees as Mughal and Mewar nobles watch. Facing the Rana, kneeling on the ground to the right, the artist Nanha may be seen. In the foreground, outside the qanats, are four musicians on the left and an elephant with his rider on the right. Mountains fill the background, with a strip of blue sky above. This event took place at the Mughal encampment of Gogunda in Rajasthan. Within a tented enclosure, Khurram kneels on a golden throne. Most of the assembled Mughal and Rajasthani courtiers are identified by minute Persian inscriptions.
Dimensions
  • Height: 31.3cm
  • Width: 20.1cm
Content description
Prince Khurram is at the centre of the composition, kneeling on a rectangular throne beneath a red and yellow canopy within an enclosure of red qanats. The bare-footed Rana bows submissively before the prince, touching his knees as Mughal and Mewar nobles watch. Facing the Rana, kneeling on the ground to the right, the artist Nanha may be seen.
Style
Marks and inscriptions
(Most of the assembled Mughal and Rajasthani courtiers are identified by minute Persian inscriptions. )
Gallery label
THE SUBMISSION OF THE MAHARANA OF MEWAR IN 1614 Page from the Jahangirnama Opaque watercolour and gold on paper Mughal, by Nanha ca. 1615 IS 185-1984 Jahangir wrote his memoirs throughout his reign until ill health forced him to stop in 1622. No contemporary illustrated volume survives, but this is a rare example of a page clearly planned for a manuscript. Near the figure in white at lower left is a catch word, written to link the page to the next, where the word would be repeated in the first line. The artist has included himself on the right, drawing the likeness of the Maharana. (2008)
Object history
A drawing of the same scene is in the Chester Beatty Library: published in colour in Elaine Wright, Muraqqa', Art Services International, 2008, cat. 25, pp. 260-1 and dated to ca. 1620-8. A later version (ca. 1640) was made for inclusion in the Padshahnama, now in Windsor Castle: see Elaine Wright, Muraqqa', p. 263 for illustration.

The event is described by Jahangir in the Jahangirnama, or Tuzuk-i Jahangiri. He recorded that it had taken place on Sunday, 26th of the month of Bahman (the 11th month of the Ilahi Calendar), in the 9th regnal year of the emperor's accession to the throne. The 9th regnal year started on 21st March 1614. The date of 26th of Bahman, 9th regnal year, corresponds to 22nd of February 1615.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This scene, probably done between about 1615 and 1618, depicts the submission of the ruler of Mewar in Rajasthan to Shah Jahan, the son of the reigning Mughal emperor Jahangir (r. 1605-1627). The ruler, Rana Amar Singh, had long held out against the Mughal forces but after a lengthy campaign directed by Shah Jahan was forced to surrender in 1615. The artist, Nanha, has included himself kneeling at the right of the scene, sketching a portrait of the Rana. The picture was made to illustrate the Jahangirnama ("Book of Jahangir"), the memoirs written in Persian by Jahangir, as indicated by the catchword isolated against the white muslin jama of the man depicted in the bottom left hand corner, which would be repeated as the first word of the following page. Although Jahangir intended to have various illustrated copies made of his book, none are known to survive.
Bibliographic references
  • Plate 48, page 64. 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, pp.78/9, no.53.
  • Susan Stronge, Painting for the Mughal Emperor. The art of the book 1560-1650, V&A Publications, London 2002, plates 89 and 90 (detail depicting Nanha), pp. 124-125.
  • Stronge, S. Made for Mughal Emperors. Royal Treasures from Hindustan. London and New York, 2010 pps. 132-133, pls. 96 and 97
  • Jackson, Anna and Jaffer, Amin (eds), with Deepika Ahlawat. Maharaja : the splendour of India's royal courts. London, V&A Publishing, 2009. ISBN.9781851775736 (hbk.), ISBN.1851775730 (hbk.).
  • Swallow, D., Stronge, S., Crill, R., Koezuka, T., editor and translator, "The Art of the Indian Courts. Miniature Painting and Decorative Arts", Victoria & Albert Museum and NHK Kinki Media Plan, 1993. p. 77, cat. no.60
  • Wheeler M. Thackston (translated, edited and annotated by), The Jahangirnama. Memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India. Freer Gallery of Art/Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, in association with OUP New York/Oxford, 1999, 165-166; this painting is illustrated on p. 166. For the copy in the Padshahnama see Milo Cleveland Beach & Ebba Koch with new translations by Wheeler Thackston: King of the World. The Padshahnama. An Imperial Mughal Manuscript from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle. Azimuth Editions/Sackler Gallery/Thames and Hudson, 1997, nos 6-7 and pp 163-164
Collection
Accession number
IS.185-1984

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
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