Hawking portrait of emperor Jahangir and a page. Painting mounted onto a detached album folio. Both figures hold birds (identified as falcons in the register) on their right wrists. Composite picture executed by two different hands and different times. Inscription below the figure of Jahangir identifies him as Salim.Ink, opaque watercolour and gold on paper.

Mughal Style
Mughal dynasty
1615
India

Curator's comments:
In this composite painting, the emperor Jahangir (ruled 1605–27) and a youth to his left -- possibly a page -- hold falcons perched upon their right hands. Falconry was a popular and prestigious sport amongst Mughal rulers and the elite. Despite the boy's fancy gold robe and jewelled belt, Jahangir's royal status is announced by the pearl, ruby and emerald necklace as well as the turban ornament that he wears even while sporting. The falcons, in turn, are held with fine gold chains that join in a lozenge on their breasts. Falconry was a popular and prestigious sport amongst Mughal rulers and the elite. Identified here in an inscription by his pre-accession name Salim, was a keen falconer. This is suggested not only by the many surviving portraits depicting the ruler with a falcon on his wrist, but also through references to falcons in his memoirs, known as the Jahangirnama (Book of Jahangir).

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