Sultan Murad and a Consort
ca. 1597

Manohar active 1582–ca. 1624))
Mughal dynasty
Reign of Akbar
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
India

This image is an unusually intimate portrait of royal lovers reclining in a garden setting. It portrays Prince Murad, the intellectually inclined second son of Mughal emperor Akbar, together with his beloved young wife, Mirza, daughter of Akbar's foster brother. Since Mughal artists aimed for verisimilitude, we may assume that Mirza was a dark-haired, slender figure with a sharp nose and pointed chin. However, the seclusion of women within the zenana (women's chambers) suggests that the artist may have based his portrait on verbal descriptions.

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