Cleveland Museum of Art

Portrait Jewel of Emperor Jahangir

Date: early 1600s
Medium: Gum tempera and gold on paper
Culture: Mughal India, court of Jahangir (reigned 1605–27)
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

The fourth Mughal emperor of India, Jahangir, had tiny portraits of himself made to give as gifts to his friends, family, and nobles of the court as a sign of royal favor. These portraits were mounted and worn as jewels or turban ornaments. The carpet or textile under his hands references the covered rail of a balcony where the emperor addressed the public three times a day to hear complaints or petitions. The pearl earring denotes Jahangir’s affiliation with an order of Sufi mystics.

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