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Preparatory Portrait of Shah Dawla

Preparatory Portrait of Shah Dawla

Indian

The small fragment depicts a standing, aged figure in profile. His arms are held outward, gesturing as if in conversation. He wears a long robe and a patchwork shawl with a collar. The figure has a long, white beard that ends in two black tendrils. He wears a hat that appears to be conical in shape. The shawl, hat, and beard style may indicate that he practices Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam.

Black ink on deer skin (charba)

Mughal period

Drawings