Jewel Portrait of a Young Girl
1660
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Jewel Portrait of a Young Girl is a 1660 unspecified by Unknown, a Baroque work, depicting Mughal, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a small, careful drawing of a young girl in a red cap, her face half-lit, half in shadow. Tiny white dots—like stars—sparkle on her dark clothes. This is a Mughal jewel portrait, made in 17th-century India. Most Mughal paintings of women show ideal beauty, not real people. But this girl looks like herself, not a perfect type. That makes scholars think she might have been someone important, maybe even royal. To see more real faces from this time, look up subject: india, mughal, 17th century.
This small drawing of a young girl wearing a chaghtai cap may be a likeness of a member of a royal or courtly Mughal family. The accuracy of female portraiture is an unresolved issue in Mughal art, as there are many paintings of women that appear to be studies of female beauty rather than visual records of real people. However, because the girl in this painting is not an idealized type, it is more likely that this is a true portrait. Unlike jewel portraits of emperors that were intended to be worn in public as status symbols, this was more likely a private gift of sentimental value.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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