Possibly by Balchand
Rao Chattarsal of Bundi (?) (verso), Calligraphy (recto), Folio from the Late Shah Jahan Album1640-1650 (verso); Iran, circa 1505-1545 (border: India, Mughal Empire, circa 1650) (recto)

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Persianate Arts: The Ardabil Carpet and Manuscript Painting

Mughal-style gouache painting on paper with a central framed portrait of an armed man in a striped jama holding a black shield, surrounded by smaller figures of courtiers and soldiers in a gilded floral border

Illuminated manuscript page with a central calligraphic panel in Nastaliq script on gold ground, framed by pink and green borders with blue diagonal accents, surrounded by a buff-toned margin decorated with naturalistically painted flowering plants in red, yellow, white, and purple.

Artist or Maker: Possibly by Balchand
(India, active 1595-circa 1650)
Artist or Maker: Mir 'Ali
(Herat or Bukhara, active late 15th to first half of 16th century)
Title: Rao Chattarsal of Bundi (?) (verso), Calligraphy (recto), Folio from the Late Shah Jahan Album
Place Made: India, Mughal Empire (verso); Iran (recto)
Date Made: 1640-1650 (verso); Iran, circa 1505-1545 (border: India, Mughal Empire, circa 1650) (recto)
Medium: Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper
Dimensions: Sheet: 15 1/8 x 10 7/8 in. (38.42 x 27.62 cm); Image (verso): 8 1/2 x 4 7/8 in. (21.59 x 12.38 cm); Image (recto): 7 1/2 x 4 1/8 in. (19.05 x 10.48 cm)
Credit Line: From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase
Accession Number: M.83.1.3
Classification: Drawings
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: This painting once belonged to a now dispersed album (muraqq‘a) known as the Late Shah Jahan Album (for another folio, see M.78.9.15). The muraqq‘a, which flourished from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century in Iranian lands, was adopted in Mughal India by the early seventeenth century. Many of these albums, which were typically composed of alternating facing pages of paintings and calligraphy, were later disassembled and their folios disseminated on the art market, as was the case with the Late Shah Jahan Album. At least 100 folios from this album survive and are spread across collections worldwide; they have been determined to be related to one another through their border decorations.

While some muraqq‘a focused on collecting and displaying masterpieces of calligraphy and painting, this album had a strong historical focus, gathering together painted portraits of important members of the Mughal court. This painting likely portrays Rao Chattarsal (r. 1632−58) of the Rajput Kingdom of Bundi, who was deeply loyal to the emperor and served in numerous military campaigns on his behalf, eventually dying in battle. Key features allude to the man’s identity. His dress and that of the border figures is Rajput, while the accompanying military arms, including shields, swords, bows, and arrows, relate to his military prowess. The recto of the folio features a calligraphic work signed by the Timurid calligrapher Mir ‘Ali, who was active in Bukhara and Herat in the preceding century, and whose work was highly prized by the Mughals and frequently appears in this album.

2025
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Painting, vol.1. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1993.
Rosenfield, John. The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1966.
Heeramaneck, Alice N. Masterpieces of Indian Painting : From the Former Collections of Nasli M. Heeramaneck. New York: A.N. Heeramaneck, 1984.
Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. Aspects of Indian Art: Papers Presented in a Symposium at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Leiden, The Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1972.
Pal, Pratapaditya; Vidya Dehejia. From Merchants to Emperors: British Artists and India, 1757-1930. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1986.
Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.

Possibly by Balchand
Rao Chattarsal of Bundi (?) (verso), Calligraphy (recto), Folio from the Late Shah Jahan Album1640-1650 (verso); Iran, circa 1505-1545 (border: India, Mughal Empire, circa 1650) (recto)

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Persianate Arts: The Ardabil Carpet and Manuscript Painting

Artist or Maker: Possibly by Balchand
(India, active 1595-circa 1650)
Artist or Maker: Mir 'Ali
(Herat or Bukhara, active late 15th to first half of 16th century)
Title: Rao Chattarsal of Bundi (?) (verso), Calligraphy (recto), Folio from the Late Shah Jahan Album
Place Made: India, Mughal Empire (verso); Iran (recto)
Date Made: 1640-1650 (verso); Iran, circa 1505-1545 (border: India, Mughal Empire, circa 1650) (recto)
Medium: Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper
Dimensions: Sheet: 15 1/8 x 10 7/8 in. (38.42 x 27.62 cm); Image (verso): 8 1/2 x 4 7/8 in. (21.59 x 12.38 cm); Image (recto): 7 1/2 x 4 1/8 in. (19.05 x 10.48 cm)
Credit Line: From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase
Accession Number: M.83.1.3
Classification: Drawings
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: This painting once belonged to a now dispersed album (muraqq‘a) known as the Late Shah Jahan Album (for another folio, see M.78.9.15). The muraqq‘a, which flourished from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century in Iranian lands, was adopted in Mughal India by the early seventeenth century. Many of these albums, which were typically composed of alternating facing pages of paintings and calligraphy, were later disassembled and their folios disseminated on the art market, as was the case with the Late Shah Jahan Album. At least 100 folios from this album survive and are spread across collections worldwide; they have been determined to be related to one another through their border decorations.

While some muraqq‘a focused on collecting and displaying masterpieces of calligraphy and painting, this album had a strong historical focus, gathering together painted portraits of important members of the Mughal court. This painting likely portrays Rao Chattarsal (r. 1632−58) of the Rajput Kingdom of Bundi, who was deeply loyal to the emperor and served in numerous military campaigns on his behalf, eventually dying in battle. Key features allude to the man’s identity. His dress and that of the border figures is Rajput, while the accompanying military arms, including shields, swords, bows, and arrows, relate to his military prowess. The recto of the folio features a calligraphic work signed by the Timurid calligrapher Mir ‘Ali, who was active in Bukhara and Herat in the preceding century, and whose work was highly prized by the Mughals and frequently appears in this album.

2025
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Painting, vol.1. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1993.
Rosenfield, John. The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1966.
Heeramaneck, Alice N. Masterpieces of Indian Painting : From the Former Collections of Nasli M. Heeramaneck. New York: A.N. Heeramaneck, 1984.
Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. Aspects of Indian Art: Papers Presented in a Symposium at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Leiden, The Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1972.
Pal, Pratapaditya; Vidya Dehejia. From Merchants to Emperors: British Artists and India, 1757-1930. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1986.
Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.