PROBABLY DELHI, INDIA, 19TH CENTURY

Details

A MINIATURE OF NUR JAHAN
PROBABLY DELHI, INDIA, 19TH CENTURY
Opaque pigments on ivory, set within a carved floral ivory frame
Portrait 3 x 2 ¼in. (7.8 x 5.8cm.); frame 7 x 4 ½in. (11.5 x 17.7cm.)

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Sara Plumbly Director, Head of Department

splumbly@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2374

Lot Essay

Arjumand Banu Begum, better known as Nur Jahan, was the beloved wife of the Emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628-58). It was for her that the Emperor built the Taj Mahal after she died giving birth to her fourteenth child in 1631. A similar portrait on ivory of Nur Jahan is on a bracelet with five other portrait miniatures in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (acc. 38.665)

More from An Eye Enchanted: Indian Paintings from the Collection of Toby Falk

View All