Aurangzeb or Bahadur Shah with Attendants

Mughal emperor

India / South Asia Collection

Accession Nr.: 6698
Type: painting; miniature
Date of production:
17th-18th c.
Mughal period
Place of production:
Acquisition: donation of Imre Schwaiger
Materials: paint (pigment); paper
Techniques: watercolor
Dimensions: height: 30.4 cm
width: 35.8 cm
An outstanding piece of Mughal-era miniature painting. The picture shows the conventions of depicting the great ruler of the Mughal Empire, Aurangzeb (1618-1707), but according to the Devanagari inscription, the image depicts the grandson of Aurangzeb, the great mogul Bahadur Shah (1643-1712). On the front side of the picture a Devanagari insription, on the verso, Devanagari and Urdu inscriptions are written. All inscriptions read Bahadur Shah Great Ruler. The caption on the front of the a date is given in Devanagari, which cannot be read completely: year 6 ??. The dating does not correspond to the historical dating of the Mughal Empire according to any Indian calendar.