Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA
Location History:
It was purchased from Rogers Fund and The Kevorkian Foundation Gift, 1955 then shifted to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA
Bishandas also known as Bishan Das was one of the prominent artist in the court of the Mughal emperor Jahangir in the 17th century. His specialization was in the field of portraits, battle scenes along with naturalistic court scenes. He was nephew of another artist named Nanha who served in the court of Akbar, Jahangir and Shahjahan. He belonged to the Jahangir school of painting. There is not much information available about his personal life rather than the fact that he was a Hindu like many other painters in Jahangir's reign.
The emperor Jahangir praised him as "unrivalled in the art of portraiture". In 1613 he was sent to Persia in a diplomatic mission in order to paint portraits of Shah Abbas I and his second son Soltan Mohammad Mirza, Saru Taqi or Isa Khan of Persia along with other leading Persian figures. He remained there for 7 years and on his return, Jahangir impressed by his work gave him an elephant as present. His works are included in Jahangirnama, Shahnama, Anwar-e Suhayl amongst others. He created realistic court and battle scenes. He was influenced by the realistic European portraits.
The artwork titled 'Portrait of Raja Suraj Singh Rathor' was painted by Bishan Das in the 17th century and 1640 to be exact. It is painted on paper by using opaque watercolour along with gold while caligraphy is done by Mir 'Ali Haravi. This artwork is currently located at 'The Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA. It is a portrait of the Rajput Rathore ruler of Marwar, Raja Suraj Singh Rathore who was also a general under Akbar and Jahangir. The portrait is surrounded by calligraphy in Persian along with flowers similar to that in Persian carpets with different vibrant colours.The border is signed by Daulat who was an artist, executed paintings and marginalia for three generations of Mughal emperors which is Akbar to Shahjahan. The background is mint green.Raja Suraj Singh Rathore is wearing white chakdar jama while there is another cloth wrapped around in butter yellow with traditional textile prints on it. He is wearing marron turban, a pearl strings around waist, possibly an ornament and two layered beads necklace which one can observe in many of the portraits of that time. He is wearing Rajput juttis and there is also Rajput Katar (weapon) in red cover around his waist belt. This artwork is part of Shah Jahan Album.
Bishandas’s Portrait of Raja Suraj Singh Rathor represents the formal synthesis of Rajput martial nobility and Mughal imperial diplomacy. Set against a mint-green backdrop and enclosed by Daulat's intricate floral borders, the portrait conveys a message of political harmony, prestige, and cross-cultural alliance. By combining European-influenced portrait realism with traditional Rajput attire and weaponry, it immortalizes Suraj Singh not merely as a vassal, but as a regal, indispensable partner in ruling the Mughal realm.
