Painting of a Portuguese Gentleman

Place of OriginIndia

Dateabout 1600-1605

Dimensions5.9 x 3.3 in. (15 x 8.5 cm)

MediumOpaque pigments and gold on paper, mounted on an album page.

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds given by Jonathan F. Orser and with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

2010.7

Not on View

DescriptionUnsigned Indian Mughal period miniature on paper (several thin sheets of paper glued together)

Label TextJust 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.Published Referencesc.f. Susan Stronge, Painting for the Mughal Emperor: The Art of the Book 1560-1660, 2002, pp. 138-139, pls. 105 and 106; pl. 106 shows a European wearing similar billowing trousers. Rosemary Crill, "Visual Responses: Depicting Europeans in South Asia", in Anna Jackson and Amin Jaffer (eds.), Encounters: The Meeting of Asia and Europe , 2004, pp. 188-199. Milo Cleveland Beach, "Visions of the West in Mughal Art", in Jorge Flores and Nuno Vassallo e Silva (eds.), Goa and the Great Mughal, 2004, pp. 170-189. Beach illustrates two related early 17th century Mughal portraits of Europeans. The "Portuguese Gentleman" on p. 179 wears a similar hat and wide trousers held by a belt with floral buckles.Comparative ReferencesSee also Susan Stronge, Painting for the Mughal Emperor: The Art of the Book 1560-1660, 2002, pp. 138-139, pls. 105 and 106; pl. 106 shows a European wearing similar billowing trousers. See also Rosemary Crill, "Visual Responses: Depicting Europeans in South Asia", in Anna Jackson and Amin Jaffer (eds.), Encounters: The Meeting of Asia and Europe , 2004, pp. 188-199. See also Milo Cleveland Beach, "Visions of the West in Mughal Art", in Jorge Flores and Nuno Vassallo e Silva (eds.), Goa and the Great Mughal, 2004, pp. 170-189. Beach illustrates two related early 17th century Mughal portraits of Europeans. The "Portuguese Gentleman" on p. 179 wears a similar hat and wide trousers held by a belt with floral buckles. See also Crill, 2004, p.190. Hats became so closely associated with firingi that foreigners were known as topiwala (hat wearer). See also Beach, 2004, p. 177. See also Ibid. See also Crill, 2004, p. 190. See also Beach, 2004, p. 174. See also Ibid. pp. 175 and 177.