An unnamed Middle Eastern museum has bought the 17th century portrait of Mughal emperor Jahangir for 1.4 million pounds sterling at an auction by a leading British auctioneer Bonhams. Emperor Jahangir ruled over India from 1605 till 1627 and lay buried in Shahdara, Lahore, where his mausoleum is popularly known as Tomb of Jahangir.
The painting has been attributed to Abu'l Hasan, Nadir al-Zaman and dated AH 1026/AD 1617. It was sold during Bonhams Indian and Islamic sale. Its spokesman said the picture is a political tour de force in which the Emperor lays claim to a world-wide ambition. This is achieved through its full life-size magnificence, use of precious items in its creation, and the words that accompany it, all make his all conquering ambition plain.
The portrait in gouache heightened with gold leaf on a fine woven cotton canvas shows the Emperor seated on a European-style throne. His head is surrounded by a radiating nimbus and he is wearing an embroidered floral tunic over a patka and striped pyjama, with applied plaster jewellery. There is a circular pendant around the Emperor's neck set with mica, with jade and glass vessels at his side and carpet under his feet. The border has 26 cartouches of fine nasta'liq inscription.
Previously shown in the National Portrait Gallery in an exhibition on the Indian Portrait in 2010, the Emperor is shown seated on a gold decorated throne holding a globe, wearing elaborate robes and jewellery. The surrounding Persian inscription states it was painted at Mandu in AH1026/AD1617.
Alice Bailey, Head of Indian and Islamic Art at Bonhams, which was founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques commented on the sale: "This is one of the rarest and most desirable 17th century paintings ever to come to auction. There is no other work of its kind known and its importance cannot be underestimated. The extraordinary detail and complexity of the painting both fascinate and bewitch the viewer. We are honoured to have sold it."
Another important item in the sale was an inscribed Mughal emerald personal seal set in a diamond encrusted gold bangle and bearing the name of Major Alexander Hannay, an East India Company officer. It sold for 90,000, pounds well above its pre-sale estimate of 40,000 pounds to 60,000. The total sale value of two items was 2.7 million pounds sterling.
The rectangular 18th century emerald is table-cut and was mounted in an enamelled gold bangle in the early 19th century. The three-line Persian inscription on the face of the emerald is in nastaliq script and reads: "Amin al-Mulk Ashraf al-Dawla Alexander Hannay Bahadur Arsalan Jang AH 1185/ AD 1774-5". Major Hannay was in the service of the East India Company under William Hastings at the time when the company had transferred its trading role into a more military administrative one.
In 1778, Hannay left Hastings service and entered that of the Nawab of Oudh. He managed the district of Gorakhpur, when during this period there were a number of disturbances as a result of his suspected oppression and misconduct. The bangle has passed down through the family to the present owner.