Emperor Jahangir in pavilion with attendants

Emperor Jahangir in pavilion with attendants

18th century

The wealthy elite in the Islamic world spent many pleasurable hours in beautiful and fragrant gardens that were central to palace spaces. Pavilions and tents erected in gardens provided a respite from the scorching heat of summer. Splashing fountains and cool breezes provided an effective air-conditioning system.

In this Mughal miniature, the ruler Jahangir enjoys the natural setting, sitting outdoors in a delicate and beautifully appointed pavilion with two attendants. The artist has rendered the garden in some detail, with distinct trees in the background, a blue sky with clouds floating by, and a carpet of flowers bordering the path leading to where Jahangir sits. An elaborately carved grille surrounds the pavilion, and Jahangir reclines against a large cushion placed on a carpet with intricate designs. From his elevated position, the ruler looks down on figures who converse with him, likely courtiers or additional attendants. All the figures in the painting wear luxurious silk garments in an array of patterns; the only simply dressed figure is the attendant who whisks away flies from the Mughal emperor. Conducting state business from a garden pavilion was normal in the Islamic world. Rulers erected elaborate architectural structures in magnificent garden settings to serve as private retreats and as locations for political discussions and royal ceremonies.

Paint on paper, brush ink, gouache, shell gold

9 3/4 x 4 1/4 in. (24.8 x 10.8 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

38.155

Provenance: Purchased August, 1938 by Mrs. Eugene Fuller from a Walla Walla Estate; Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

Photo: Paul Macapia

Not currently on view

Art for the Palace/Tent

Secular Islamic manuscripts feature a variety of themes-some of them fantastic and mythical-illustrating popular literary and poetic works. Other manuscripts represent the lives and daily activities of the people who commissioned them-royal and elite patrons who populated the court in the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries.

The imagery in these secular Islamic manuscripts mirrors the lives of people in the upper levels of society and depicts their favorite pastimes. The images display a high degree of fantasy: court figures and rulers are represented in an ideal form, as they wished to be seen rather than the way they actually were. A certain tension exists between the real and the imaginary. One cannot be truly certain if what one sees is historically accurate.

The Alhambra, Grenada, Spain

Photo: Jaron Berman

Related Objects in SAM's Collection

Photo: Paul Macapia

Emperor Jangahir in pavilion with attendants, 18th century, Mughal, 38.155

Photo: Paul Macapia

Portrait of a Safavid Prince, late 16th century, Persian, 40.36

Photo: Paul Macapia

Portrait miniature, Shah Jahan, 17th century, Indian, 59.46

Portraiture

One theme that characterizes secular Islamic manuscripts is portraits of rulers and society's elite. Portraiture became a significant genre of painting in the Islamic world in the seventeenth century. Rulers were generally not accessible to the public, so when their images were distributed widely, they provided a level of contact between the ruler and his subjects. Contact with Europe brought more interest in the naturalism of portraiture, an art form that had been popular in the Western Mediterranean since Greek and Roman times.

Portrait Miniature, Shah Jahan, 17th Century, Indian, 59.46

Media

Karen Mathews talks about the people in this Mughal manuscript

Karen Mathews, Assistant Professor of Art History, University of Miami, discusses art for the palace or tent

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