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The Mughal Emperor and his Court thumbnail 2
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The Mughal Emperor and his Court

Album Page
1774 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

‘Company paintings' were produced by Indian artists for Europeans living and working in the Indian subcontinent, especially British employees of the East India Company. They represent a fusion of traditional Indian artistic styles with conventions and technical features borrowed from western art. Some Company paintings were specially commissioned, while others were virtually mass-produced and could be purchased in bazaars.

This Company painting is part of an album, now known as the Gentil Album, of 58 paintings commissioned by a French infantry colonel, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Gentil (1726-1799), who served under Shuja ud-Daula of Awadh from 1762/3 until 1775. Shah Jahan and his peacock throne are depicted here. The throne was removed to Iran by Nadir Shah in 1738/9 and subsequently broken up.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Mughal Emperor and his Court (series title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour on paper
Brief description
Gentil; Manuscripts, Col J B J Gentil, Faizabad, 1774. Page number 3. Shah Jahan on the Peacock Throne. The text on the back of this page relates to the next image, IS.25:4-1980.
Physical description
Shah Jahan on the Peacock Throne which was carried off by Nadir Shah in 1738-9; courtiers and attendants present. From the Gentil Album. Shah Jahan, on throne in centre, on raised dais covered with a yellow cloth. Courtiers and attendants, also under pavilion to left and right.
Dimensions
  • Length: 37cm
  • Width: 53.5cm
Style
Subjects depicted
Summary
‘Company paintings' were produced by Indian artists for Europeans living and working in the Indian subcontinent, especially British employees of the East India Company. They represent a fusion of traditional Indian artistic styles with conventions and technical features borrowed from western art. Some Company paintings were specially commissioned, while others were virtually mass-produced and could be purchased in bazaars.

This Company painting is part of an album, now known as the Gentil Album, of 58 paintings commissioned by a French infantry colonel, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Gentil (1726-1799), who served under Shuja ud-Daula of Awadh from 1762/3 until 1775. Shah Jahan and his peacock throne are depicted here. The throne was removed to Iran by Nadir Shah in 1738/9 and subsequently broken up.
Bibliographic references
  • Archer, Mildred. Company Paintings. Indian Paintings of the British period Victoria and Albert Museum Indian Series London: Victoria and Albert Museum, Maplin Publishing, 1992 118 p. ISBN 0944142303 Chanchal Dadlani, ‘Transporting India. The Gentil Album and Mughal Manuscript Culture’, Art History. 2025, pp. 748-761
  • S. Stronge, Jewellery Studies, Vol. 10, 2004, "The Sublime Thrones of the Mughal Emperors of Hindustan", p. 62, fig. 14.
Collection
Accession number
IS.25:3-1980

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Record createdJanuary 18, 2000
Record URL
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