Painting of a Portuguese Gentleman
Date: about 1600-1605
Dimensions:
5.9 x 3.3 in. (15 x 8.5 cm)
Medium: Opaque pigments and gold on paper, mounted on an album page.
Place of Origin: India
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds given by Jonathan F. Orser and with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 2010.7
Label Text:Just six years after the discovery of a sea route to India by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama in 1498, Portugal colonized the coasts of the Indian subcontinent, establishing by force trading posts, settlements, and military forts. About a century later, an Indian artist painted this miniature of a Portuguese gentleman at the Mughal court of the Emperor Akbar (1542–1605). He is dressed in a late Renaissance European style except for his trousers. The foreigners retained their European cloaks and doublets in lighter materials for the warmer seasons, but replaced tight knee breeches and hose with loose trousers for comfort, gathered at the ankle for protection against mosquitoes.
DescriptionUnsigned Indian Mughal period miniature on paper (several thin sheets of paper glued together)
Not on view
In Collection(s)