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Equestrian portrait of Nawab Aliwardi Khan
Nawab Aliwardi Khan
Equestrian portrait of Nawab Aliwardi Khan
Islamic; Mughal
about 1750–55
Object Place: Murshidabad, West Bengal, Northeastern India
Medium/Technique
Ink, watercolor and gold and silver on paper
Dimensions
41.3 x 29.2 cm (16 1/4 x 11 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912 and by contribution
Accession Number14.673
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsPaintings
In 1740, Aliwardi Khan, who served as governor of eastern regions under the Mughals, separated himself and his territories from the empire and declared himself nawab, or ruler. From his new capital at Murshidabad, Aliwardi Khan commissioned paintings that emulated features of the imperial style but employed very simplified forms. The gold background of this portrait appears to be a later addition, but the abstract quality of the landscape is original to the painting.
ProvenanceBy 1912, Victor Goloubew (b. 1879 - d. 1945), Paris [see note 1]; 1914, sold by Goloubew through M. Meyer-Riefstahl to the MFA for $76,999.81 (total price for 14.532-700). (Accession Date: June 4, 1914)
NOTES:
[1] Victor Goloubew was born in Russia but lived in Paris by the time of this acquisition. He formed this collection of Persian and Indian miniature paintings and exhibited it at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris from 1912 to 1914 (Paull, Florence Virginia. "The Goloubew Collection of Persian and Indian Paintings." Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin. Vol. XIII. No. 74. (February 1915) 1-16).
NOTES:
[1] Victor Goloubew was born in Russia but lived in Paris by the time of this acquisition. He formed this collection of Persian and Indian miniature paintings and exhibited it at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris from 1912 to 1914 (Paull, Florence Virginia. "The Goloubew Collection of Persian and Indian Paintings." Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin. Vol. XIII. No. 74. (February 1915) 1-16).