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A PORTRAIT <strong>OF</strong> A FATHER AND HIS SON: MIR ABU AL-MA’ALI AND HIS SON,<br />
THE MUGHAL MILITARY COMMANDER KHAN JAHAN BAHADUR ZAFAR JANG<br />
KUKALTASH<br />
BY HUNHAR, MUGHAL <strong>INDIA</strong>, CIRCA 1675-80<br />
Ink and transparent pigments on paper, each kneeling on a carpet, facing each other, Mir Abu<br />
al-Ma’ali wears a turban and holds a rosary, his son Khan Jahan adresses him, his two hands<br />
opened towards him, attendants standing at either side, one with fy whisk, the other with<br />
crutch, a rectangular pool and pavilion in the background, identifcation inscriptions in Persian<br />
and devanagari script with names of sitters and attribution to Hunhar, the reverse with English<br />
inscription in pencil, numbered ‘16’ and ‘1400’ in devanagari and Latin script<br />
12æ x 16ºin. (22.3 x 41.2cm.)<br />
£15,000-20,000 $22,000-28,000<br />
€19,000-25,000<br />
Khan Jahan Bahadur’s full name is Bahadur Zafar Jang Kukaltash. Bahadur Khan held a<br />
prominent position at the Mughal court of Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir. Besides being in<br />
Aurangzeb’s favour as a family relative by adoption, he was a high ranking general in the Mughal<br />
army and played an active role in conquering the Deccan. In 1691, a year after his son Hemant<br />
Khan was appointed faujdar of Gorakhpur and subadar of Awad he was made subadar of the<br />
Punjab until 1693. Bahadur Zafar Jang Kukaltash died in November 1697 and is presumably<br />
buried in Lahore.<br />
The Mughal noble and general is depicted here in conversation with his father Mir Abu al-Ma’ali.<br />
The inscriptions below give the name of each sitter, the rank of Khan Jahan Bahadur of 7000 and<br />
7000 horses, his victories of Bijapur and Bhagnagar, the name given to his father by Aurangzeb,<br />
Sayyid-e Khaf, and in the centre, a formula gives the names of the artist ‘This sketch by Hunhar<br />
who in the past was called Kahar Gusain. His Majesty distinguished him by calling him Hunhar and<br />
he was a chief painter’.<br />
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