A Mughal courtier

This sensitive portrait is among the earliest surviving individual portraits from the Mughal atelier. He remains unidentified by inscription, since such portraits were made for the emperor Akbar who was unable to read. Realism in portraiture developed under Akbar as a means of keeping records of gifts and promotions without written notations. The figure conspicuously grasps the maroon and gold scarf in his left hand, which suggests that it may have been the gift from the emperor that would have occasioned the portrait. The array of blades he carries indicates that he was conscripted into military service at the Mughal court.