Prince Khurram ( later Shah Jahan) Weighed Against Metals

Prince Khurram ( later Shah Jahan) Weighed Against Metals

Mughal miniature
Jahangir Period
17th century AD

      Jahangir describes this scene in his Memoir,  Jahangirnama. According to him, Prince Khurram did not have good health. When he turned sixteen, the astrologers told Jahangir that an important epoch of his life would begin. In order to begin the period auspiciously, Jahangir had him weighed against precious metals, gems, cloth, etc. These were to be distributed amongst the poor and the needy. Jahangir also tells us that Akbar carried out this ceremony twice a year. 
         The Mughal artists have captured the opulence,  the grandeur, the daily events of the Mughal court. Here we see a servant placing a bundle on the floor, a scribe writing the names of the material, we see the huge balance, the courtiers standing solemnly.  We see a fine portrait of Jahangir and of young Khurram (later to be known as Emperor Shah Jahan). We see the Persian carpets and the Chinese painting on the walls. The Mughal world comes alive.

Inayat Khan Dying

Inayat Khan Dying

A Mughal miniature
Jahanghir Period
1618 AD.

       Jahanghir was fascinated by the reality around him. Curious by nature, he would carry his painters with him on his sojourns.  If he came across any unusual thing, he would ask the painters to paint it. Inayat Khan's condition shocked Jahanghir.  Hence this painting.
         Inayat Khan was one of jahangir's  intimate attendants.  Later in life he became addicted to opium and wine. His health deteriorated.  He wanted the royal permission so that he could go back to Agra. When Jahangir saw his condition,  he was horrified.  He asked himself "Good God, can a son of man come to such a shape and fashion?"
        But Jahangir did not learn any lesson. He himself became an opium addict later in life. He too died of opium addiction.
        Beginning with Jahangir period, the painters moved away from stylization to realism. Painters like Bachitra specialized in portraiture.  Jahangir emphasised realism in art. This tendecy would reach its climax under Shah Jahan. Under Jahangir,  Indian art took a u-turn. ?

Peacock and Peahen

Peacock and Peahen

 by Ustad Mansur
 Jahangir Period
 17th century AD.

          This is one of the best known and a popular miniature painting of the Mughal School. Unlike the endless stylized dancing peacocks found in Indian arr, Mansur has caputured the peacock in a natural pose--as runing with its pray, a small snake in its beak. The running peacock has drawn the peahen's attention,  as she turns to look at the peacock. This is one of the most 'naturalistic' or 'realistic'  miniatures from the Mughal School. Yet it is also ingrained in the Persian tradition of miniatures with its stylized trees, and rocky, jagged landscapes,  and with its flatness. Stuart Cary Welch has said, " Partly grounded in nature, partly fanciful, this minature's total effect is wholly lyrical". In its spirit it reflects the cosmopolitan culture of the Mughal court--partly Hindu, partly Western, yet with an underpinning of Persian culture.