Cleveland Museum of Art

The Emperor Alamgir (reigned 1658–1707) on Horseback

Date: c. 1690–1710
Medium: Gum tempera, gold, and silver on paper
Culture: India, Mughal Dynasty (1526-1756)
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

The equestrian portrait genre was inspired by gifts of European prints and paintings to the Mughal court. The sixth Mughal emperor is portrayed on an elegant, decorated steed, ready for battle, holding a spear, and his sword at the ready. His attendant holds the symbolic parasol over him, which is a millennia-old emblem of kingship in India. Throughout his long reign he was primarily occupied with the conquest of the Deccan, which he ultimately achieved, expanding the Mughal Empire to its greatest geographical extent.

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