A bearded man stands obliquely against a landscape, leaning on a long sword of European style, dressed in baggy trousers, white shirt with soft ruffle and open at the neck, European style jacket and black velvet cap. In the background are two hills with small figures climbing up the paths towards a shrine at left and a small town at right - ca. 1615

This Mughal painting of an unknown European was probably painted in the first half of the reign of the emperor Jahangir (1605-1627). The Western elements of the man's clothes, and the style of his European sword, are broadly dateable to the 1590s, suggesting that the anonymous Mughal artist based his painting on a Western portrait. However, the loose, voluminous trousers are the kind worn by Europeans living in India and adapting their clothes to the climate, making any conclusions about the artist's inspiration tentative. The subject's overall appearance, and the colours of his clothes, are similar to another portrait of a European in the V&A, IM 386-1914.

The painting was bought from Mr Arthur Churchill in 1913 as a portrait of Sir Thomas Roe, who arrived in India in 1616 as the first official English ambassador to the Mughal court, but does not resemble his appearance in authentic English portraits.

Source: V&A, London