A STANDING PORTRAIT OF ABUL HASAN QUTB SHAH (R. 1672-1686), SULTAN OF GOLCONDA
Possibly Northern India, late 20th century

Opaque pigments, ink and gold on wove paper, the vertical composition replicating an earlier portrait of Abul Hasan Qutb Shah in the collection of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) Museum in Mumbai, both portraits presenting the Sultan of Golconda in a full standing position, the left hand placed on the Sultan's wide hip and the right holding a flower, a typical posture and motif in Mughal ruler's portraits, wearing a yellow hunting overcoat lined with fur around the neck and chest, another element ubiquitous in Mughal portraiture, set within decorative light green borders with golden vegetal scrolls, mounted on a later white cardboard frame, the recto with several lines of black ink Urdu or Arabic script, 15.5cm x 21.7cm excluding the mount.

Another renowned painting portraying the ruler in a similar posture and garb once belonged to Edwin Binney 3rd and is now permanently part of The San Diego Museum of Art Collection (inv. no. 1990.491, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/454802, last accessed 05/03/2022). Most portraits of this ruler seem to share the exact same features in terms of attire, posture and overall character's presentation.