MUGHAL INDIA, FIRST HALF 17TH CENTURY

Details

PISHRAW KHAN (D. 1607-8)
MUGHAL INDIA, FIRST HALF 17TH CENTURY
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, laid down on card within gold-speckled indigo borders set within red and gold rules, the margins plain, the verso with later pencilled owner's marks
Painting 4 3/8 x 2 ¾in. (11.1 x 7cm.); folio 10 ¼ x 6 ¾in. (25.9 x 17.2cm.)

Provenance

Bonhams London, 25 October 2007, lot 337

Engraved

The partial inscription probably reads shabīh-i Pishraw Khān (likeness of Pishraw Khan)

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Sara Plumbly Director, Head of Department

Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this

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

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

Pishraw Khan was a ghulam of Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524-76) presented to the Mughal Emperor Humayun (r. 1530-40, 1555-6) during his exile in Iran. During the reign of Akbar (r. 1556-1605), he rose through the ranks and became supervisor and foreman of the imperial carpet department. He remained an honoured figure at the Mughal court until his death at the age of ninety (Wheeler Thackston, The Jahangirnama: Memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India, Washington D.C., 1999, pp. 48, 97). A portrait of Pishraw Khan is included in an album of Mughal portraits in the Royal Collection (acc. no. RCW1005038).

More from Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Rugs and Carpets

View All