Shah Jahan (c. 1630): Art, History and Details

Shah Jahan (c. 1630) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Hashim (Indian, active 1598-c.1650).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This sensitive portrait jewel was probably painted shortly after Shah Jahan came to the throne of the powerful Mughal Empire in 1628 after the death of his father, Jahangir. He decided to wear a full beard, in reference to his increased orthodoxy in comparison to his more liberal father and grandfather. The artist’s signature appears behind Shah Jahan’s nape.

Object facts

• Title: Shah Jahan
• Date: c. 1630
• Creator attribution: Hashim (Indian, active 1598-c.1650)
• Culture: India, Mughal Period (1526-1756)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Overall: 5.4 x 3.7 cm (2 1/8 x 1 7/16 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1920.1969

A detail from the museum

This portrait belonged to Cleveland mogul Jeptha H. Wade II, a cofounder of CMA.

Collection credit

Gift of J. H. Wade

Further reading listed by the museum

• Schrader, Stephanie, Catherine Ann Glynn, Yael Rice, William W. Robinson, and Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. Rembrandt and the Inspiration of India. 2018. Plate 17
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
• Schrader, Stephanie, ed. Rembrandt and the Inspiration of India. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2018.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.