A YOUNG MUGHAL PRINCE BEING ENTERTAINED BY MUSICIANS AND POETS
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE AMERICAN COLLECTION
Mughal India, early 17th century

Opaque pigments, white wash, and ink heightened with gold on paper, the miniature-quality vertical composition presenting a tinted drawing of a young Mughal prince, identified by an adjacent black ink inscription as Akbar, enjoying an evening of poetry and music in the garden of a palatial compound, the elderly poet next to him also identified by a black ink inscription, now faded, below him another inscription reading Amal-e Nadir Zaman (possibly a reference to Abu'l Hasan Nadir al-Zaman, 1589 - 1630, Emperor Jahangir's favourite court painter), set within black and gold rules, pasted onto a later album page with concentric decorative borders with stylised floral sprays in gold on a dark blue ground on the interior, and light blue, plain gold, and cream grounds on the exterior, mounted on a white cardboard frame, the painting 14cm x 10.3cm, 35.5cm x 28cm including the mount.

Provenance: purchased from Tristan Lenert in Paris.