Nawab Muzaffar 'Ali Khan on Horseback

Rai Kalyan Das (Chitarman II)

ca. 1730 · Ink, opaque watercolor, gold on paper · Islamic Art

Muzaffar 'Ali Khan was governor of Ajmer under the emperor Muhammad Shah (r. 1719–48), and was killed in 1739 at the Battle of Karnal. His portrait can be attributed to Rai Kalyan Das, the artist known as Chitarman II, after the legendary artist who had worked for Shah Jahan a century earlier. Under Chitarman II’s guidance, Mughal court painting experienced a resurgence, although the size of the imperial workshop never regained the heights of the earlier period.

Artist

Rai Kalyan Das (Chitarman II)

Date

ca. 1730

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor, gold on paper

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Purchase, Friends of Islamic Art Gifts, 2009