The portrait of Murtaza Khan

This picture shows the famous Portrait of Murtaza Khan from a fine Mughal miniaturists folio, c.1610. It was painted by the famed court artist Manohar Das. The large ornate frame was made by his contemporaries, master of the workshop Daulat. Within the painting we can see the influential military commander and noble Shaikh Farid Bukhari who was given the title of ‘Murtaza Khan’ by Emperor Jahangir due to his key role in consolidating the empire. He is shown in rigid profile holding an open scroll/petition in both hands to show what he is responsible for to the state. He wears a beautifully patterned jama (tunic) that is lilac and cream with a tight patka. He also wears deep orange trousers and embroidered pointed shoes. His structural dagger (katara) can be seen in his waistband to show his status as a member of the military. The painting has many fine ornate borders. There is a thin border with beautiful Persian Nastaliq lettering, a thick dark blue border with complex scroll like designs with gold inlay and the main feature of this imperial album folio is the wide hashiya. This has been made using one shade of gold (nim-qalam). The ornate border has beautifully detailed realistic plants, bushes, insects and animals to show how much the Mughal court loved nature. In the centre bottom there is clear Persian lettering stating who the subject and painter is. This piece was originally from a royal album and shows the perfect precision, uniqueness and balance of the finest pieces of Jahangir’s court portraiture.