Posthumous portrait of the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah (reigned 1719–1748) holding a falcon (recto)

Posthumous portrait of the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah (reigned 1719–1748) holding a falcon (recto) by Muhammad Rizavi Hindi: The artist used the carpet, the…

What to notice

In Posthumous portrait of the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah (reigned 1719–1748) holding a falcon (recto), start with classical, portrait, figurative. Then look closely at this museum-described detail: He has turned the picture plane into the space of a window, over the sill of which a golden carpet ornamented with a field of lilies marks…

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The artist used the carpet, the floor cushion, and the halo to indicate the royal status of the seated figure. He has turned the picture plane into the space of a window, over the sill of which a golden carpet ornamented with a field of lilies marks his location for outsiders. His signature in Persian, the Mughal lingua franca, interrupts the fringed border.