Jahangir Shooting the Head of Malik Ambar
| Jahangir Shooting the Head of Malik Ambar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Abu'l-Hasan |
| Movement | Mughal |
| Dimensions | 25.8 × 16.5 cm |
Jahangir Shooting the Head of Malik Ambar is a Mughal painting by the artist Abu'l-Hasan.[1] It is located in the Chester Beatty Library.[2]
Background
[edit]Malik Ambar was the regent of the Ahmdenagar Sultanate. The Mughal emperor Jahangir fought a long campaign to conquer Ahmednagar, but could not achieve this goal due to fierce resistance from Ambar's forces.[3][4]
Jahangir Shooting the Head of Malik Ambar is part of a series of allegorical paintings commissioned by Jahangir, around 1616-18, executed by eminent painters of the Mughal court. These display a wide variety of motifs drawn from Islamic, Hindu, and Christian iconographies, and are serve to reflect the inner psyche of their patron.[4]
Another theory suggests that it was painted on the occasion of Ambar's death in 1626.[5]
Description
[edit]
The principal subject is Jahangir, shooting a second arrow through the severed head of Malik Ambar, impaled upon a javelin. He stands upon a globe, featuring India at the center. This is a reference to the his regnal title Jahangir (literally "world seizer").[3] A lion and a goat are represented on the globe, depicting the "dad u dam" (transl. "beast and prey") theme.[7] The globe is situated upon the horns of a cow, which in turn is standing on a fish. The cow and fish are both Islamic symbols of kingship.[4] Jahangir being on top of this group of objects thus symbolizes his status as the sovereign of the material and spiritual realms.[8]
To the right is a golden stand, on which is a disk containing the seal of Jahangir, surmounted by a plumed crown. On the seal are the full titles of Jahangir, and his genealogy tracing back to Timur.[6] A bird of paradise flies above this stand.[4]
To the left is the severed head of Malik Ambar, with an open mouth and eyes rolled back, is depicted without a turban, and thus a disrespectful portrayal. One arrow has already struck the head.[9] An owl is perched on top of the head. The owl, in Islamic symbology, is an inauspicious bird and a symbol of death, and Jahangir reportedly asked for its inclusion himself.[3] The dead mate of this bird hangs from the javelin, below the severed head. A chain with bells connects the javelin to the globe, with a scale suspended from it. This chain is the zanjir-i adal (chain of justice), placed in the Mughal capital, where any subject might ring it seeking the emperor's justice.[7] Jahangir's musket is also depicted, resting by the javelin.[4]
The following text is inscribed below the scale: "Through the justice of Shah Nur al-Din Jahangir, the lion has sipped milk from the teat of the goat".[7]
Other versions
[edit]Another version, considered to be a later copy painted in the 19th century, exists in the Smithsonian.[2][6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Jahangir Shooting the Head of Malik Ambar". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
- ^ a b Beach, Milo Cleveland (1980). "The Mughal Painter Abu'l Hasan and Some English Sources for His Style". The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery. 38: 29, 32. ISSN 0083-7156.
- ^ a b c Asher, Catherine B.; Talbot, Cynthia (2022-09-08). India before Europe. Cambridge University Press. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-108-65467-8.
- ^ a b c d e Haidar, Navina Najat; Sardar, Marika (2015-04-13). Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-300-21110-8.
- ^ Skelton 1988, p. 179.
- ^ a b c Gallop, Annabel (1999-04-01). "The genealogical seal of the Mughal Emperors of India". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol.9, no.1 (April 1999): 98.
- ^ a b c Beach, Milo Cleveland (1981). The imperial image: paintings for the Mughal court. Freer Gallery of Art, Washington.
- ^ Mumtaz, Murad Khan (2023-08-28). Faces of God: Images of Devotion in Indo-Muslim Painting, 1500–1800. BRILL. p. 156. ISBN 978-90-04-54944-9.
- ^ Natif, Mika (2018-07-25), "Concepts of Portraiture under Akbar and Jahangir", Mughal Occidentalism, Brill, pp. 205–260, ISBN 978-90-04-37499-7, retrieved 2025-02-14
Bibilography
[edit]- Skelton, Robert (1988). "Imperial Symbolism in Mughal Painting". In Soucek, Priscilla (ed.). Content and Context of Visual Arts in the Islamic world.