- Title
- Mian Bhupal Dev of Jasrota (circa 1690-1730)
- Date Made
- circa 1700
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper
- Dimensions
- 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 in. (19.05 x 19.05 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.74.5.8
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
Bhupal Dev of Jasrota (circa 1670-1730) was a chief minister (diwan) at the court of Raja Anand Dev of Bahu (r. circa 1690-1715) in present-day Jammu and Kashmir. He may have been a son of Raja Jag Dev of Jasrota (r. circa 1670-1685). His inscribed title here, Mian, refers to the fact that he was a nonruling member of a royal or noble family. By circa 1705, however, inscriptions on comparable portraits identify him as “Raja Bhupal Dev.” For example, see a portrait attributed to circa 1705 in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (IS.111-1954) and a portrait attributed to circa 1720 in the San Diego Museum of Art (1990.1068). Jasrota rulers sometimes served as the diwan at the court of Jammu or at its contemporary rival sibling’s court of Bahu in circa 1560-1715, after which Bahu was absorbed into Jammu. Jasrota was one of ten tributary states formed by the Jammu royal family. It had the distinction of being the oldest and one of the most powerful.
In this portrait, Bhupal Dev is depicted seated on a carpet leaning against two bolsters and smoking a hookah. He has sectarian markings on his forehead and temple. He wears a red turban and a white coat (jama), both with floral sprays in a diaper pattern. He has a hoop earring with pearls, a long bead necklace, and gold bracelets and a ring. He is set against a plain background, as is typical of Mankot and Bahu/Jammu portraits.
- Selected Bibliography
- Rosenfield, John. The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1966.
