Prince Hindal Mirza (?) in a Garden

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Prince Hindal Mirza (?) in a Garden

India, Mughal Empire, circa 1600-1610
Drawings; watercolors
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Image: 4 7/8 x 3 in. (12.38 x 7.62 cm); Sheet: 9 x 6 3/4 in. (22.86 x 17.15 cm)
Purchased with funds provided by Christopher Perkins and Wanda and Don Stein through the 1989 Collectors Committee (M.89.60)
South and Southeast Asian Art
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

The early Mughal prince depicted in this portrait has been tentatively identified as Hindal Mirza (1519-1551). He was the youngest son of the Mughal dynasty’s founder, Emperor Babur (r. 1526-1530)....
The early Mughal prince depicted in this portrait has been tentatively identified as Hindal Mirza (1519-1551). He was the youngest son of the Mughal dynasty’s founder, Emperor Babur (r. 1526-1530). Hindal died bravely in Afghanistan during a nighttime attack on his brother, Emperor Humayun (r. 1530-1540 and 1555-1556). In honor of his deceased brother, Humayun gave Hindal’s daughter, Raqia, in marriage to his son, the future Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605). Raqia bore no children, but under the directive of her husband was entrusted with the care of his grandson, the future Emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1627-1628). In this individualized, sensitive portrait, Hindal Mirza wears the distinctive Chaghatai-style headgear, known as a Crown of Power and Glory (Taj-i ‘Izzat), which was favored by Humayun and his brothers. Hindal wears a blue garment and an elegant red and gold overcoat with a white fur (?) border. He holds a small book with a lacquered and gilded cover, symbolic of wisdom, and a handkerchief, an emblem of cultural refinement. Around his waist he wears a sword belt with bejeweled golden fittings and a Persian shamshir (lion’s tail) sabre, indicative of his prowess as a warrior. Hindal sits in a garden with delicate flowering plants and a light green background characteristic of Akbar-period painting. On the back of the painting is a later Persian inscription erroneously identifying the subject as Emperor Timur (r. 1370-1405). (Translation by Thomas W. Lentz.)
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Bibliography

  • Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art Members' Calendar 1990.  vol. 27-28, no. 12-1 (December, 1989-January, 1991).
  • Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art Members' Calendar 1990.  vol. 27-28, no. 12-1 (December, 1989-January, 1991).
  • Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Painting, vol.1. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1993.
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