A PROFILE PORTRAIT OF A MUGHAL PRINCE, POSSIBLY SHAH SHUJA (1616 - 1661)
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE AMERICAN COLLECTION
Possibly Sawar, Rajasthan, North-Western India, late 19th century

Black ink, pencil, and white wash on wove paper, the vertical composition portraying a Mughal prince holding a small rose blossom in his hand, his turban folded in a distinctive Mughal style and decorated with a strand of pearls around the head and a black heron feather aigrette caparisoned with three pearl beads, set within black rules, at the top a later-added inscription in black ink Devanagari script erroneously identifying the sitter as Timur-i Lang (Tamerlane), the back with various notes in pencil, 32cm x 22cm.

Provenance: Roseberys London, 10 December 2013, lot 1344.

For a useful comparison with contemporary portraits of Shah Shuja dating to the second half of the 17th century, please see the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, acc. no. MS.5.2006, and the V&A Museum, London, acc. no. 132:5-1885. In both cases, the prince is painted in profile and his turban presents a very distinctive folding style, always enhanced by a strand of pearls and a pendant above the forehead.