June 30, 1720

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People

Muhammad Shah 1720–1748

DESCRIPTION

Oval portrait of a woman in a Chaghtai hat
c. 1740-50

India, Mughal, 18th century
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Overall: 9.5 x 7.4 cm (3 3/4 x 2 15/16 in.)

Gift of J. H. Wade 1920.1967

DID YOU KNOW?

She holds a delicate jade cup of the type for which the Mughals were famous.

DESCRIPTION

The tall, flat-topped hat is an element of the native dress of the Mughals from eastern Uzbekistan. Of mixed Turkic and Mongol ethnicities, they spoke a Turkic language known as Chaghatai. Chaghatai refers to the name of the son of the Mongol Chingiz (Genghis) Khan, who ruled this area of Central Asia from 1246 to 1282.

This woman’s hat has been studded with jewels and strings of pearls. The portrait jewel format that was once reserved for the emperor has now been expanded to include ladies of the court. The woman holds a jade wine cup and wears a draped upper garment with a woven or embroidered border similar to the fragment on display at the left.

EXHIBITION HISTORY

Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115); February 4 - August 5, 2003.

Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115); February 20 - August 18, 2004.

The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).

Exhibition of the Month: Indian Miniatures. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 15-September 28, 1952).

The World of Miniature Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 20-November 10, 1953).

Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).