Indian Painting under the Mughals, A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1750 c20.60

c20.60

Even on such an adventure the queen sat in an *amāri* or covered howdah, thus screened from the public eye as much as the unusual circumstances would permit, and no doubt all members of the male sex, except those necessary for her safety, were withdrawn from the vicinity. Moreover Jahangir, who would never have allowed such an event to pass without a pictorial record being made, refrained from doing so on this occasion, due no doubt to the presence of the ladies. Fancy portraits professing to be Nur-Jahan shooting at birds and animals are seen in some collections, but none of these bears any real evidence of being authentic representations of the scenes they are intended to depict. Until, therefore, more substantial proofs are forthcoming that the artists were allowed to make direct studies of the ladies of Indian households, Manucci’s statement may be accepted as a fairly accurate description of the condition of female portraiture under the Mughals.