Cleveland Museum of Art

Portrait of Asaf Khan (1569–1641), from the Late Shah Jahan Album

Date

c. 1653

Medium

Gum tempera and gold on paper

Culture

Mughal India, court of Shah Jahan (1627–58)

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Asaf Khan, born in Iran, was a general and close advisor to Mughal emperors Jahangir (reigned 1605–27) and Shah Jahan (reigned 1627–58). He was also Jahangir’s brother-in-law and Shah Jahan’s father-in-law. The figures in the borders show that Asaf Khan was both a scholar and a soldier. At the top, mullahs (learned Muslim clerics) with books gesture in discourse, while two soldiers converse at ease below. Three retainers stand at the side presenting a sword, a vase of narcissus, a bow, and arrows. He has strapped on a sheathed sword and tucked a stabbing dagger and book into his elegantly embroidered floral sash.

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