Jahangir Enthroned on an Hourglass a painting by Bichitr
from Jahangirnama
Jahangir period
17th century AD.
Another painting of propaganda. Not a political one, but a spiritual one. The Emperor sits on an hourglass where the sand of time and life flows by. He has four supplicants before him. Shaikh Husain of the Chishti shrine, the Ottoman Sultan, James I --the King of England, and the painter Bichitr himself. The Emperor ignores the last three. Instead he gives his Book of Life to Shaikh Husain. The Emperor takes refuge in Islam.
This painting is interesting for many other reasons as well. It shows the growing interest in Western art and technology. The portrait of James I is a copy of an English painting. The cherubs are also borrowed from western paintings. The idea of an hourglass is an English imported item. Further it is one of the few occasions in Indian art that we have a self-portrait of an artist. A rare thing indeed. The status of the artist has improved from being a mere artisan to being depicted with the Emperor himself. The artist is beginning to emerge in his own right.
This painting is interesting for many other reasons as well. It shows the growing interest in Western art and technology. The portrait of James I is a copy of an English painting. The cherubs are also borrowed from western paintings. The idea of an hourglass is an English imported item. Further it is one of the few occasions in Indian art that we have a self-portrait of an artist. A rare thing indeed. The status of the artist has improved from being a mere artisan to being depicted with the Emperor himself. The artist is beginning to emerge in his own right.
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