PROBABLY DELHI, MID-19TH CENTURY

Details

BEGUM SAHIBA ZEENAT MAHAL
PROBABLY DELHI, MID-19TH CENTURY
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on ivory, facing left, in European dress, mounted
3 ½ x 3in. (9 x 7.8cm.)

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

Begum Sahiba Zeenat Mahal (1823 -1886) was the de facto Empress who ruled the Mughal Empire on behalf of the Emperor Bahadur Shah II Zafar. She was his favourite wife and bore him a son, Mirza Jawan Bakht. A photograph of her is housed in an album at the British Library (shelfmark: Add.Or.5475, item no: ff. 17v-18). That photograph is believed to be the only photograph that exists of any Mughal empress.

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