Cleveland Museum of Art

Shamsa (sunburst) with portrait of Aurangzeb (1618–1707), from the Emperor's Album (the Kevorkian Album)

Bichitr

Date

illumination 1640–55; original portrait c. 1640–50; altered after 1658

Medium

Gum tempera and gold on paper

Culture

India, Mughal court, made for Shah Jahan

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This closing page of an imperial Mughal album originally had the shamsa , or sunburst, with a plain gold disc in the center, referencing the light of God as divine sanction for Emperor Shah Jahan’s rule. The depiction of divine light by means of floral and geometric patterns was painted by hand with mathematical precision in gold and lapis lazuli. The portrait of Aurangzeb was probably added when he took over the imperial library after seizing the throne from his father, Shah Jahan, in 1658 and adopting the name Alamgir, which means “Seizer of the Universe.” The string of prayer beads in his right hand points to his extreme religious orthodoxy, which dramatically altered the culture of the Mughal court from what had previously been an openly ecumenical center. Tooling the gold cloud motif with pinpricks makes it catch more light and shimmer.

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