Abd al-Rahim, Khan Khanan

F1939.50a & F1939.50b two sides of a single folio.
Detached folio from a dispersed manuscript; A portrait of Abd al-Rahim Khan Khanan; side panel texts in Persian black nasta’liq script; inscriptions on golden frame; reverse: Panel of calligraphy; verses of poem; Persian in black nasta’liq script; corners embellished with triangular illuminated panels; signed by Mir Ali.

Border: obverse: The painting is set in gold and purple rulings in an inner frame of calligraphic panels and a gold outer frame with floral motifs mounted on a paperboard with gold flowers on a blue ground. Reverse: the calligraphy panel is set in red, gold, and black rulings in an inner frame of calligraphy panels, and a gold floral outer frame, mounted on a paperboard with multicolored flowers and marginal medallions.

Maker(s)
Artist: Hashim
Historical period(s)
Mughal dynasty, Reign of Jahangir, ca. 1627
Movement
Mughal Court
School
Mughal School
Medium
Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W (image): 15 x 8.3 cm (5 7/8 x 3 1/4 in)
Geography
India
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1939.50a
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript, Painting
Type

Manuscript folio

Keywords
illumination, India, Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), portrait, Reign of Jahangir (1605 - 1627)
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

F1939.50a & F1939.50b two sides of a single folio.
Detached folio from a dispersed manuscript; A portrait of Abd al-Rahim Khan Khanan; side panel texts in Persian black nasta'liq script; inscriptions on golden frame; reverse: Panel of calligraphy; verses of poem; Persian in black nasta'liq script; corners embellished with triangular illuminated panels; signed by Mir Ali.

Border: obverse: The painting is set in gold and purple rulings in an inner frame of calligraphic panels and a gold outer frame with floral motifs mounted on a paperboard with gold flowers on a blue ground. Reverse: the calligraphy panel is set in red, gold, and black rulings in an inner frame of calligraphy panels, and a gold floral outer frame, mounted on a paperboard with multicolored flowers and marginal medallions.

Inscription(s)

On the painting, lower right: Amal-i Hashim
"Work of Hashim."
On the gold frame: Shabih-i [?] Khankanan sepah salar amal-i Hashim
"Likeness of [?] Khankanan commander-in chief, amal-i Hashim."
Reverse:bottom left, Fagir hagir Mir Ali
"Poor, lowly Mir Ali."

Label

Abd ar-Rahim, a poet and patron of the arts, was the Khankhanan or Commander in Chief of the Mughal armies during the late 16th and early 17th centuries.


Hashim, one of the finest seventeenth century Mughal artists, depicts him here as a powerful but sensitive man. Mughal artists like Hashim tended to concentrate on the subtle characterization of their sitter's facial features and gestures. In 1587-1588 Abd ar-Rahim commissioned an illustrated copy of the Persian translation of the Indian epic, Ramayana. The Freer Gallery of Art owns this work containing 130 paintings. (see F1907.271)

Published References
  • Amin Jaffer. Beyond Extravegance: A Royal Collection of Gems and Jewels. vols. 1-2, , 2nd ed. New York. pg. 546.
  • Freer Gallery of Art. Gallery Book IV: Exhibition of May 22nd, 1940. Washington. .
  • Sotheby's (London). Catalogues of Valuable Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, Comprising a series of very important Indian drawings by the court painters of the great Moghul emperors, Shah Jahan and Aurangzib, the property of a gentleman. London, December 12-13, 1929. no. 131, p. 18.
  • Smithsonian Institution. Report of the Secretary, 1940. Washington. p. 45, pl. 2.
  • Simonetta De Vries. Recent Oriental Acquisitions by Museums. vol. 12, no. 2 New York, February 1940. p. 48.
  • John Seyller. Workshop and Patron in Mughal India: The Freer Ramayana and Other Illustrated Manuscripts of 'Abd al-Rahim. Supplementum 42, Zürich and Washington. p. 49, fig. 20, frontispiece.
  • Milo Cleveland Beach. The Imperial Image: Paintings for the Mughal Court. Exh. cat. Washington, 1981. cat. 24a, p. 85.
  • Annemarie Schimmel. The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture. London. p. 86, fig. 29.
  • Thomas Lawton, Linda Merrill. Freer: a legacy of art. Washington and New York, 1993. p. 125, fig. 86.
  • Milo Cleveland Beach. The Imperial Image: Paintings for the Mughal Court., 2nd ed. Washington and Ahmedabad, India, 2012. cat. 24A, p. 144.
Collection Area(s)
South Asian and Himalayan Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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