Indian Painting under the Mughals, A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1750 c16.1

Language: English

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ALTHOUGH the intimate relations that existed between Jahangir and his court painters were not continued by his successor Shah Jahan, nevertheless the latter’s reign was one of remarkable artistic activity. As Prince Khurram he evinced an interest in the subject of painting, as may be gathered from an incident recorded by Roe. The ambassador had presented the heir-apparent with ‘a siluer watch very small, which he tooke kyndly ; but tould mee the Pictures I showed his father the night before, If I had giuen him, hee would have better accepted than any thing ; demanding if I had no more.’ The young emperor-elect was obviously as greedy as Jahangir to possess examples of the European miniature painters’ art. But Shah Jahan’s artistic patronage did not specially confine itself to painting, as did Jahangir’s ; it was more comprehensive, and diffused itself over the whole field of the fine and applied arts, with the result that not only one but all the crafts flourished. This monarch’s name is, however, chiefly associated with architecture, because it is by the many noble buildings erected in his reign that he is most widely known. The palace-fort at Delhi, which he caused to be built not long after he had ascended the throne, although shorn of much of its splendour by subsequent vicissitudes, is a monument to his imperial magnificence.

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Among several florid couplets painted on the central pavilion of this edifice by the Mughal artist in praise of the beauty of his own handiwork, is one which reads, ‘the face of its wall is so decorated, that it demands from the painters of China a fee for showing its face’. In spite of the somewhat vague hyperbole, such an inscription does not fail to indicate that the Indians continued to regard their fellow craftsmen in the Far East as serious competitors in the pictorial art. When this array of palaces was occupied by its founder, and in the height of its splendour, it was a suitable setting to the gorgeous pageants which took place within its walls. Plate XXIV¹ depicts a durbar being held in the *Diwan-i-* Am, or ‘ Hall of Public Audience ’, on the occasion of the reception by Shah Jahan of an embassy from Persia, which event probably took place soon after his accession in the year 1628. The emperor was then thirty-six years old, which is about the age at which the artist has portrayed him, and the picture is typical, not only of the painting, but also of the pomp, even pretentiousness, of the Mughals during the first half of the seventeenth century. The incident here recorded could not have taken place, however, at Shah Jahan’s palace at Delhi, as the construction of this was not begun until some years later, but the building shown in his picture bears considerable similarity to the one which was ultimately erected by this emperor on the banks of the Jumna.

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Heavily carpeted pavements, painted sandstone pillars, gilt marble walls, embroidered velvet ceiling cloths, and pearl-fringed canopies, were some of the extravagancies introduced by this luxurious potentate as a fit setting for his court. Among the group of officials on the left of the picture, some of the members of the Persian mission may be observed, being distinguished by their costume which differs from that of the Mughals. Saluting the king by putting his right hand up to his forehead, is the Persian ambassador, while beside him is a Mughal official reading from a small tablet the personnel of the mission, which is being introduced by name and rank. With him are several Mughal councillors, but farther back are a number of Persians bearing golden trays containing jewelled cups and precious ornaments, a present from their imperial master, Shah Sufi, who had just succeeded his more famous father Shah Abbas. Below will be seen the remaining and more substantial portion of the Safavid ruler’s princely offering, consisting of five richly caparisoned Arab horses, each in charge of a Persian groom. On the right of the picture are some of the lesser court officials, while standing on the low platform in the middle are two handsome youths waving yak-tail *chauris* (fly-whisks), the symbol of royalty, another attendant engaged in a similar duty being in the emperor’s rear.

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On the same level as Shah Jahan and facing him, with folded hands and respectful mien, are his two elder sons, Dara Shikoh and Shuja, accompanied by their tutor. In the rich colouring shown by the costumes of striped and flowered brocades, in the range of shades of the complexions, from the fair-skinned Persians down to the swarthy Indian menials, each face being a studied likeness, in its fullness of detail (even the features on the small portrait brooches worn on the turbans of some of the officials being recognizable), as an example of Mughal painting this miniature holds a high place. And in the centre of the composition, emphasized by a radiant nimbus, is the refined face of the emperor, to whose aesthetic mind not a little of the artistic and architectural wealth of India is due.