Shah Jahan

His appearance in this portrait is one of imperial magnificence. He is heavily bejewelled, wearing multiple bracelets, necklaces and turban ornaments, and a belt set with large stones. His sword has a gold hilt and scabbard fittings similarly set with precious stones.

The portrait was once part of a royal album with floral borders characteristic of Shah Jahan's reign. Forty pages from the album were sold at Sotheby's, London, in 1925 and bought by the collector Alfred Chester Beatty in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum. The V&A acquired 21 folios, and the Chester Beatty Library 19, and the album was henceforth known as the Minto Album, from its known connnection with the Minto family. It is not known whether the album was acquired by the First Earl Minto, Governor General of India from 1807 to 1813, or by the fourth Earl, Viceroy of India from 1905 to 1910.