MUGHAL INDIA, THE PAINTING LATE 16TH OR EARLY 17TH CENTURY, THE CALLIGRAPHY AND MARGINS MID-18TH CENTURY

The central figure in the painting of this album page is identified as the son of Farrukh Fal, who was an officer at the Mughal court of Agra in the second half of the 17th century noted for his unattractive appearance and obesity. However, our figure is shown with almond-shaped eyes, piercing rounded pupils and small mouth more typical of late Akbar-era portraiture. Therefore, the attribution is likely a later erroneous one. Another portrait of a portly courtier tentatively identified as Farrukh Fal and dating to circa 1700 is shown in Navina Najar Haidar and Marika Sardar, Sultans of Deccan India, 1500-1700: Opulence and Fantasy, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2015, cat. 171, p. 295. A comparable but slightly later portrait of a Yogi wearing a cape is in the collection of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin (Linda York Leach, Mughal and Other Indian Paintings from the Chester Beatty Library, London, 1995, no.2.55, p. 208).

The text on the reverse is a quatrain in praise of knowledge which has been attributed to Amir Husayni Haravi Sadat (d.1498). Our calligraphy relates very closely in appearance to a calligraphy by Mir 'Ali Haravi from the Shah Jahan Album in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (obj.no. 55.121.10.5), however our text uses the word harf ('word') where it is 'ilm ('learning') in the Mir 'Ali.