Portrait of a Sultan: Art and Diplomacy in the Making of a Newly Discovered Portrait of Jahangir

This thesis investigates the newly discovered Portrait of a Sultan - its artist, subject, dating, provenance and wider cultural significance – in the context of the artistic and diplomatic relations between Mughal India and the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century. Using a multidisciplinary approach, it examines the trans-cultural role of portraiture, Dutch artists in Asia and Oriental portraits by artists in the Dutch Republic. This research confirms several key suspicions about the Portrait of a Sultan: that it depicts Jahangir, Emperor of the Mughal Empire, and that it was owned by Stadholder-King William III. The analysis also shows how the portrait was likely located at Honselaarsdijk Palace and discusses its connection to two Dutch painters: Willem Schellinks and Rembrandt. It does this by drawing on a large variety of sources: the Akbarbama and the Jahangirnama, travel journals, the Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem, the inventories of the estates of the House of Oranje-Nassau,...Show moreThis thesis investigates the newly discovered Portrait of a Sultan - its artist, subject, dating, provenance and wider cultural significance – in the context of the artistic and diplomatic relations between Mughal India and the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century. Using a multidisciplinary approach, it examines the trans-cultural role of portraiture, Dutch artists in Asia and Oriental portraits by artists in the Dutch Republic. This research confirms several key suspicions about the Portrait of a Sultan: that it depicts Jahangir, Emperor of the Mughal Empire, and that it was owned by Stadholder-King William III. The analysis also shows how the portrait was likely located at Honselaarsdijk Palace and discusses its connection to two Dutch painters: Willem Schellinks and Rembrandt. It does this by drawing on a large variety of sources: the Akbarbama and the Jahangirnama, travel journals, the Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem, the inventories of the estates of the House of Oranje-Nassau, letters of Constantijn Huygens and three archives: the Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) archive, the Nassause Domeinraad archive and the Royal Collections archive of the Oranje-Nassau family. Ultimately, this thesis lays the groundwork and proposes future avenues for research on the Portrait of a Sultan.Show less

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Portrait of a Sultan: Art and Diplomacy in the Making of a Newly Discovered Portrait of Jahangir