Cleveland Museum of Art

Portrait of Raja Jagat Singh of Nurpur (reigned 1618–46)

Bichitr

Date

probably 1619

Medium

Gum tempera and gold on paper

Culture

Mughal India, Court of Jahangir (reigned 1605 - 27), possibly Lahore

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Jagat Singh was a prince from a small kingdom in the western Himalayan foothills who grew up at the imperial Mughal court of Jahangir and his queen Nur Jahan. He was given the title of prince in 1619, and this painting may commemorate that event. Very few nobles from the hill states had positions at the Mughal court at this time, so his portrait is a rare imperial Mughal painting. The emperor and his favorite wife frequently visited Nurpur, named “City of Light” in their honor, to hunt and relax, and Prince Jagat Singh was a favorite of the queen. She interceded on his behalf in 1624, when he joined a rebellion to dethrone her husband. Jagat Singh, shown in this miniature, was a favorite of the Mughal queen.

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