id: 170840
accession number: 2013.328
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2013.328
updated: 2022-01-04 17:57:27.178000
Shah Jahan holding a spinel and a long Deccan sword, from the Late Shah Jahan Album, c. 1650. India, Mughal, 17th century. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; page: 36.7 x 25.4 cm (14 7/16 x 10 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 2013.328
title: Shah Jahan holding a spinel and a long Deccan sword, from the Late Shah Jahan Album
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: c. 1650
creation date earliest: 1648
creation date latest: 1658
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:
---
culture: India, Mughal, 17th century
technique: opaque watercolor and gold on paper
department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection: Indian Art - Mughal
type: Painting
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
---
CREATORS
* Hashim (Indian, active 1598-c.1650) - artist
active mid-1600s
---
measurements: Page: 36.7 x 25.4 cm (14 7/16 x 10 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
---
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Art and Stories from Mughal India
opening date: 2016-07-31T04:00:00
Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).
---
LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 245). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 31, 2013-June 30, 2014).
* Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 245). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 28, 2015 - November 2, 2015).
---
PROVENANCE
Sotheby’s, London, Western, Oriental and Hebrew Manuscripts and Miniatures, 10 July 1968 sale, lot 18
date: 10 July 1968
footnotes:
citations:
Ralph Benkaim [1914-2001] and Catherine Glynn Benkaim [b. 1946], Beverly Hills, CA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
date: 1968-2013
footnotes:
citations:
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
date: 2013-
footnotes:
citations:
---
fun fact:
The finest fabric was the most transparent, like the Emperor’s New Clothes.
digital description:
wall description:
This page came from an imperial album assembled for Shah Jahan toward the end of his reign. Only portraits of the emperors have angels hovering with a crown in the top border along with the predator peacefully paired with his prey below. Shah Jahan chose to link these symbols of peace and justice with divine sanction for his rule, as indicated by the light of the sun and moon behind his head. Royal retainers carry emblems of sovereignty in the left border. Imperial Mughal painting reached a pinnacle of refinement and formality under Shah Jahan. The artists reveal astonishing skill in their ability to render the subtle texture of the feather in his turban crest, the gleam of every jewel, the softness of his beard, and the delicacy of his costly translucent muslin robe. In his hand Shah Jahan holds a ruby-like gemstone called a spinel, prized among the Mughals for its talismanic properties of protection during battle.
---
RELATED WORKS
---
CITATIONS
Beach, Milo Cleveland, Stuart Cary Welch, and Glenn D. Lowry. The Grand Mogul: Imperial Painting in India, 1600-1660. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1978.
page number: no. 77
url:
Leach, Linda York. Mughal and Other Indian Paintings from the Chester Beatty Library. London: Scorpion Cavendish, 1995.
page number: p. 427
url:
Glynn, Catherine. "Shah Jahan and Pahari painting" in Discerning Eye & Eloquent Line: A Festschrift : Essays to Honor R.E. Lewis on His 75th Birthday. Betsy Geraghty Fryberger, editor. Palo Alto, Calif: Betsy G. Fryberger, 1998.
page number:
url:
Wright, Elaine Julia, and Susan Stronge. Muraqqaʻ Imperial Mughal Albums from the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. Alexandria, VA: Art Services International, 2008.
page number: pp.464, app. 3.61
url:
Mace, Sonya Rhie, Mohsen Ashtiany, Catherine Glynn, Pedro Moura Carvalho, Marcus Fraser, and Ruby Lal. Mughal Paintings: Art and Stories: the Cleveland Museum of Art. London: D Giles Limited, 2016.
page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. 61, p. 31, 233
url:
---
IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.328/2013.328_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.328/2013.328_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.328/2013.328_full.tif