Cleveland Museum of Art

Posthumous portrait of the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah (reigned 1719–1748) holding a falcon (recto); Calligraphy (verso)

Muhammad Rizavi Hindi

Date

1764

Medium

Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper

Culture

Mughal India, probably Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Emperor Muhammad Shah, who reigned from 1719 to 1748, was known as “Rangila,” which means “the Colorful.” The innovative use of a black background sharply sets off the chartreuse green of his jama and the pearls of his adornments and bolster. On his left thumb he wears an archer’s ring, and a stabbing dagger is tucked into his bejeweled belt. Even his trained hunting falcon has a ruby necklace. In this formal posthumous portrait, the master artist conveys a heightened realism that emerges effortlessly from elegant contour lines and bold use of color. The work was part of an album of paintings collected in India before 1811 by a Scottish politician who worked for the British East India Company. The archer’s thumb ring is for drawing the bowstring. Perhaps he was left-handed.

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