AN HONORARY PORTRAIT OF THE TIMURID PRINCE JALAL-UD-DIN MIRAN SHAH (1366 - 1408), THE THIRD SON OF TIMUR
Delhi, Northern India, mid to late 19th century

Opaque pigments, black ink and gold on wove paper, the large vertical composition presenting an honorary birth act with posthumous portrait of the Timurid prince Jalal-ud-Din Miran Shah, the third of Timur's four sons and the governor of "the throne of Hulagu", a vast domain corresponding to all the lands formerly part of the Mongol Ilkhanate that Timur conquered by 1393, including Persia, Transcaucasia, Baghdad, Tabriz and Sultaniya, the prince depicted here in the same garb and attitude of Mughal emperors, resting on a high golden throne with parasol, wearing a brocaded fur-lined hunting overcoat, with a large golden nimbus, flanked by an attendant and revered by a Mughal prince and his consort, set within illuminated borders with golden foliage, the wide outer border with several lobed golden cartouches filled with bold black ink nasta'liq inscriptions against polychrome-painted flower fields mentioning the pivotal dates of Miran Shah's life in abjad format from his birth date (upper right corner - 14 Rabi' ul-Awwal 760 AH), coronation and special achievements, until his death date (lower left corner) reading 4 Dhu al-Qidah 810 AH (1 April 1408 AD, which is incorrect, as he died on 20 April 1408 after the Battle of Sardrud), the recto with 4ll. of bold nasta'liq calligraphy repeating the date of death of Miran Shah, set within polychrome marbled borders, mounted, glazed and framed, the folio 47cm x 29cm, 60.5cm x 41.5cm including the frame.

Following a common trend in 17th and 18th-century Mughal India, this painting and birth act of the Timurid prince Miran Shah was probably conceived as a way to honour and celebrate Mughal rulership, stressing the emperors' legitimacy to rule as descendants of Timur and his progeny.