The Mughal Emperors Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb visiting two holy men, accompanied by courtiers and Rajput princes

Mewar, late 17th Century

Footnotes

Provenance:
Private collection;
Acquired from Simon Ray in 2000.

The incident depicted is an imaginary one. Towards the end of the 17th and the early 18th Century the Mewar rulers commissioned paintings which reveal their interest and fascination with their Mughal adversaries and their lineage. This painting demonstrates Akbar's widely admired religious tolerance. He consulted religious leaders and holy men of diverse creeds. Within the cave sits a Hindu ascetic, while outside, dressed in white and sitting cross-legged, wearing a cap, is a Sufi mystic.

Not all the figures can be identified, but immediately behind Akbar in the top row are Jahangir and Shah Jahan as a young man. The figure below Akbar and Jahangir may be identified as Shah Jahan in his old age, followed by his four sons. However, Aurangzeb, here tellingly depicted (in the top row) as a prince and son of Shah Jahan rather than as an emperor in his own right, was famously intolerant of other religions, and would probably not have visited such a shrine. Amongst the Rajput chiefs and princes, with their distinctive turbans and jamas tied on the left side, is Man Singh of Amber (in yellow towards the right of the front row), usually seen leaning on a staff, though his hands are clasped as usual in some of his portraits. Behind him is probably Chhatar Sal of Bundi. The man in blue at the end of the entourage to the right-hand side of the painting may be Gaj Singh of Marwar, and the man dressed in pink, Bhagwan Das of Amber. A notable feature is the array of dagger hilts, which include a blue carved jade ewe's head hilt, a white jade horse head hilt (khanjar), a dagger with a floral scrolled hilt (chilanum) and a khatar or thrust dagger.

The Mewar rulers were always proud of the fact that they did not wholly fall in with the Mughals, and this painting therefore provides an oblique comment on their relations and tensions in portraying a Mewar viewpoint of their overlords' attitudes.