Mughal Empire, 1526–1858 | Reign of Akbar, 1556–1605
y1969-39
This portrait comes from an album named for the young Prince Salim that was compiled when the prince rebelled against his father and set up his own court in the eastern part of the empire. Later, the prince ascended the throne as the fourth Mughal emperor and adopted the name Jahangir (r. 1605–27). About thirty paintings from the album survive and are dispersed across collections in North America and Europe. All feature the same border decoration, with geometric medallions painted in gold. The inscription on this painting reads: īn shabīh-i Sharīf sarmad-i ast (this portrait of Sharif is everlasting/eternal).
Black-on-buff inscription above scene; inscription and scene together bordered with bands of blue and a broad zone of gold geometric patterns on the parchment ground.
From Ettinghausen, “Islamic Art from Princeton”: Listed as “Portrait of an Official of the Court of the Emperor Jahangir,” about 1620. (See reference Bib. 702)
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Indian, Mughal Empire (1526–1858), Reign of Akbar (1556–1605), Portrait of Sharif Sarmadi, from the Salim Album, ca. 1600. Opaque watercolor with gold on paper; 12.1 × 5.9 cm (miniature), 22.7 × 14.2 cm (sheet), 48.9 × 36.2 cm (mat). Gift of J. Lionberger Davis, Class of 1900 (y1969-39)
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https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/art/collections/objects/54912
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Indian, Mughal Empire (1526–1858), Reign of Akbar (1556–1605), Portrait of Sharif Sarmadi, from the Salim Album, ca. 1600. Opaque watercolor with gold on paper; 12.1 × 5.9 cm (miniature), 22.7 × 14.2 cm (sheet), 48.9 × 36.2 cm (mat). Gift of J. Lionberger Davis, Class of 1900 (y1969-39)
