Weighing of Shah-Jahan (plate 13) The twice-yearly weighings of the Emperor - on both his solar and his lunar birthdays - were among the greatest annual festivals of court life. An amount equal to his weight in gold and silver and other precious silver and metals was later distributed as alms to the poor. This illustration records the weighing ceremony on 23 October 1632 when the Persian Ambassador Muhammad-Ali Beg, seen wearing orange at the right-hand edge of left sheet, was documented at court. The ceremony took place in the Diwan-i-Khass (the Hall of Private Audience) in the imperial fort at Agra. The five figures closest to Shah-Jahan are his four sons and his father-in-law (their maternal grandfather), Asaf Khan, whose nephew and son-in-law Ja'far Khan now stands at his right shoulder. The text records: 'The Emperor, surrounded by a divine aura, was weighed against gold and silver and the other usual things, and the skirt of the world was held out in expectation of gold and silver. On this auspicious day Muhammad-Ali Beg, the ambassador of Persia, was awarded a gold-embroidered robe of honour [and many other gifts] and he was given leave to depart.' Creator(s) Bhola (illustrator) Measurements 31.9 x 21.4 cm (image) 58.4 x 36.9 cm (page dimensions).

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