Indian Painting under the Mughals, A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1750 c20.40

c20.40

The English ambassador Roe was the recipient of one of these pictorial favours, which were given out to all high officials who came to the court. Jahangir was also the inventor of the ‘portrait jewel’, and used to make his courtiers wear miniatures of himself, mounted as a brooch and attached to the front of their turbans. Shah Jahan copied his father in both these fashions, as in the Rampur State Library there is a portrait of the former with an inscription on the reverse to the effect that he was presenting it to one of his generals in token of his devoted service. In the original of the picture reproduced on Plate XXIV, a magnifying glass reveals several of those present at the durbar wearing pendants and brooches containing minute portraits of the emperor. The most skilful portrait painter of Jahangir’s reign was a Hindu of the name of Bishandās, who is described in the memoirs as being ‘unequalled in his age for taking likenesses ’. A few examples of this artist’s work have survived, including an illustration in the South Kensington *Bāburnāma*, a picture in the Boston Museum, and a sketch in the Tagore collection, Calcutta. There is also a portrait of Shah Abbas in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, which may be by the same artist’s brush, or a very good contemporary copy. Bishandās was selected by Jahangir for the important duty of accompanying a mission to Persia ‘ to take the portraits of the Shah and the chief men of his State ’. Most of his pictures are therefore the results of his journey there, and no doubt many of the portraits of Persian princes and noblemen figuring in collections of Mughal pictures were originally painted by Bishandās. Jahangir was pleased with his work, for he remarks on his return that ‘ he had drawn the likenesses of most of them, and especially had taken that of my brother the Shah exceedingly well, so that when I showed it to any of his servants, they said it was exceedingly well drawn ’. As a reward ‘ the painter was honoured with the gift of an elephant ’.