Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah (1614-74) on Horseback
c. 1635
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah came to the throne of Golconda at the age of twelve and ruled until 1635 when the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan invaded the Deccan. Although Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah kept his position, he did so under conditions named by Shah Jahan that included the payment of tribute money, conversion to Sunni Islam, and the presence of a Mughal political agent at the Golconda court.
In this watercolor portrait, executed with subdued colors that complement the gold accents, the young Sultan wears a diaphanous shawl over his richly embroidered robe. His horse is almost as lavishly dressed in decorative trappings and jewels as his rider.
- Title: Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah (1614-74) on Horseback
- Date Created: c. 1635
- Provenance: Collection of Hagop Kevorkian (1872–1962), New York, before 1962, Sotheby’s London, Important Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures: The Property of the Kevorkian Foundation, 12 April 1976, lot 137, Christie’s, London, Islamic Art and Indian Miniatures, 15 October 1996, lot. 10, Spink and Son, London, 2001
- Type: Painting
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/2013.287
- Medium: Ink, watercolor, and gold on paper, mounted with gold-sprinkled borders
- Fun Fact: Specks of gold are sprinkled around the edges of this portrait.
- Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Culture: Southern India, Golconda
- Credit Line: Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection
- Collection: Indian Art
- Accession Number: 2013.287
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