Cleveland Museum of Art

A Mughal Prince, Perhaps Danyal, Holding a Sprig of Flowers

Date: c. 1580–90
Medium: Gum tempera and gold on paper
Culture: Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

Prince Danyal (1527–1605), the emperor Akbar’s youngest son, is said to have been his favorite. Danyal served his father as a military officer, leading contingents to the Deccan plateau in southern India, until he succumbed to an untimely death of alcoholism; Akbar himself died later that year. Here, Danyal wears the thumb ring of an archer and grasps a white flower in his hand, recalling his epithet, Nosegay of Fortune’s Spring. In his right hand he holds prayer beads. A sword, knife, and dagger hang from his sash. This early Mughal portrait depicts him as he appeared in his mid-teens.

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