Mughal Portrait Fetches $2.3 Million

A portrait of Mughal Emperor Jahangir sold for over $2.3 million at Bonhams sale of Indian and Islamic art in London on Tuesday. This is one of the highest prices ever paid for a Mughal work of art. Pictured next to the emperor in the portrait is a wine decanter. While this was a recurring image in courtly paintings made in this period, it is worth noting Jahangir is said to have liked wine more than is thought to befit a Muslim emperor.

The portrait shows a bejeweled Jahangir wearing a traditional tunic and pajama trousers, sitting on a golden throne and holding a globe in his right hand. This is widely recognized as a not-so-subtle indication of the emperor’s political ambitions. Jahangir’s name itself is Persian for “conqueror of the world.” Jahangir succeeded his father Akbar, ruling over the Mughal empire from 1605 until his death in 1627. During the rule of Jahangir, a known patron of the arts, the Mughal empire was one of the world’s richest and most vast.

The Persian inscription that frames the portrait indicates it was completed in 1617 in Mandu, a now-ruined city in present day Madhya Pradesh. Pictured next to the emperor in the portrait is a wine decanter. While this was a recurring image in courtly paintings made in this period, it is worth noting Jahangir is said to have liked wine more than is thought to befit a Muslim emperor

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