Indian Painting under the Mughals, A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1750 c20.41.1

c20.41.1

Jahangir added his own portrait to the family group of the ‘ Princes of the House of Timur ’, but as it was not originally intended to form part of the composition the appearance of the picture is not improved by the introduction, as the central portion thus becomes rather overcrowded and unbalanced. On obtaining possession of the sceptre, however, all the monarchs seem to have indulged in certain formalities, to show to the world that they had assumed power. One in which they always indulged was that of adding their own personal seal to much of the state property, as for instance the most valuable of the books and illustrated manuscripts in the imperial library. On the fly-leaf of those which they appreciated most they occasionally added in their own handwriting a florid inscription relating to themselves and the regard they felt for such a work of art. It was somewhat the same idea which inspired them to introduce their own portraits into the Timurid family group. Jahangir himself was very proud of his origin, which shows itself in several similar paintings, and specially in a peculiar portrait-picture in the Rothschild collection. The lower part of the miniature is occupied by a series of twelve circles, in each of which is a likeness of the emperor, from the time he was a small child until he was a man of forty years of age. Above is a genealogical tree tracing out his descent from the Amir Timur, in a well-designed calligraphic panel ;