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Portrait of Murad Bakhsh (1624–61)
attributed to Balchand (Indian, active 1595–c. 1650)
c. 1635; borders c. 1700s
- Medium
- gum tempera and gold on paper
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- Overall: 28.4 x 25.7 cm (11 3/16 x 10 1/8 in.); Painting: 4.3 x 3.5 cm (1 11/16 x 1 3/8 in.)
- Culture
- Mughal India, court of Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–58)
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Credit line
- 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
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
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.
