The Story of the Wrongly Exiled Prince as Told by the Princess of the Sandalwood Pavilion
| Support Type: | Paper |
| Paint Type: | Gouache |
| Current Location: | The painting is currently held in the permanent collection of the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America (Accession number: W.624.203B) |
| Location History: | The painting was created in 1597–1598 in the Mughal imperial atelier at Lahore under Emperor Akbar. In the early 19th century it was owned successively by Muhammad Zaki (1825–26), ‘Abd al-Raji Muhammad Shafi‘ (1831–32), and Muhammad ‘Ali. It was later acquired by Henry Walters of Baltimore and bequeathed by him in 1931 to the Walters Art Museum, where it remains today. |
This painting is about a young prince who is sitting in front of a statue. Some people said wrong things about him and blamed him for bad act. His three friends told him to go and sit quiet in front of the statue so that everyone will know he is not guilty. This story is from a old book called Khamsa. One princess from sandalwood house told this story to king Bahram Gur. When I see this painting I feel little sad but also peaceful. The prince look calm even he is in trouble. The place is soft with trees and some buildings. It look very quiet. I think this painting show that if you are innocent you should stay patient. The artist name is Mukund. He work in Emperor Akbar time around 1597 or 1598. Mukund style is soft and careful. He not use very bright colours. He make faces look gentle and he put small details nice way. At the bottom of painting he write his name “work of Mukund”. I like this painting because it tell story in simple way. Mukund make the feeling come out clear. Even after many years the picture still feel real and full of quiet emotion.
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