id:			170839
accession number:	2013.327
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2013.327
updated:		2023-03-22 03:04:58.180000

Portrait of Murad Bakhsh (1624–1661), c. 1635; borders c. 1700s. Attributed to Balchand (Indian, active 1595–c. 1650). Gum tempera and gold on paper; page: 28.4 x 25.7 cm (11 3/16 x 10 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.327

title:				Portrait of Murad Bakhsh (1624–1661)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1635; borders c. 1700s
creation date earliest:		1630
creation date latest:		1799
current location:		
creditline:			Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection
copyright:			

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culture:	Mughal India, court of Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–58)
technique:	gum tempera and gold on paper
department:	Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection:	Indian Art - Mughal
type:		Painting
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Balchand (Indian, active 1595–c. 1650)  - artist

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measurements: Page: 28.4 x 25.7 cm (11 3/16 x 10 1/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Art and Stories from Mughal India
	opening date:   2016-07-31T04:00:00
	<i>Art and Stories from Mughal India</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* <em>Gifts of the Sultan</em>. Los Angeles Count Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Museum of Islamic Art, Doha (2011–2012).

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PROVENANCE

	Capt. E. G. Spencer-Churchill [1876–1964], Northwick Park, Gloucestershire, England
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Christie’s, London, The Northwick Park Collection: The Property of the late Captain E. G. Spencer-Churchill, MC, 24 June 1965, lot 9)
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Robert Moore, Los Angeles, CA, to Ralph Benkaim and Catherine Glynn Benkaim
	date: 1965–September 1986
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Ralph Benkaim [1914–2001] and Catherine Glynn Benkaim [b. 1946], Beverly Hills, CA
	date: 1986–2001
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer, Beverly Hills, CA, partial sale and gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 2001–2013
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2013–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
This portrait belonged to a cousin of Sir Winston Churchill.

digital description:
The miniature portrait of a Mughal prince is now mounted on an album page. Originally, it was in a gemstone setting as a “portrait jewel” to be worn by family and supporters at court. India’s ruling elite had been wearing portrait jewels since Sir Thomas Rowe (about 1581–1655) presented British portrait miniatures and cameos to the Mughal emperor as part of a diplomatic gift in 1616, when he successfully negotiated for British access to India’s ports.

wall description:
The youngest son of Shah Jahan wears a stylish jama not unlike the example on view on the adjacent wall, and the fabric pattern recalls the poppies on the textile hanging above the display case to the left. He would meet his death in 1661 after being imprisoned and executed by order of his ambitious older brother, Emperor Alamgir, who determined that there be no rivals to his claim to the throne. The exceptionally soft treatment of his youthful features even at such small scale is testament to the skill of the imperial Mughal painters.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Komaroff, Linda, and Sheila Blair. <em>Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts</em>. [Los Angeles]: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2011.
	page number: 	cat. no. 60, p. 226
	url:		

	Mace, Sonya Rhie, Mohsen Ashtiany, Catherine Glynn, Pedro Moura Carvalho, Marcus Fraser, and Ruby Lal. <em>Mughal Paintings: Art and Stories: the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. London: D Giles Limited, 2016.
	page number: 	Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 57, p. 231
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.327/2013.327_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.327/2013.327_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.327/2013.327_full.tif