Jahangir Embracing Shah Abbas – Unity (Critique)

Abu’l Hasan’s ancient painting, Jahangir Embracing Shah Abbas (act. 1600-30) is a small composition filled with exquisite detail of opaque watercolor and ink on gold paper. The scene portrays two men of royalty in very detailed and lavish clothing and jewelry embracing standing on top of a globe with a lamb and a lion at their feet. Encompassing them is a large golden halo that surrounds both of them being help up by two angel heads. In the center of the halo, there is microscopic scripture that is illegible unless looked at with a magnifying glass. The painting is primarily made up of soft pastel reds, yellows, blue, and greens — the whole piece is alive with color. Framed by a red lavish border with gold branching patterns inside, the scene evokes feelings of peace and reconcile.

 

One of the most remarkable traits of the piece is the way all of the elements work together in creating “a coherence of the whole” — unity. (Chirousek). With the intricately designed patterns forming the foundation of this exquisitely designed piece, the various vertical and curved lines add to both the grandeur of this scene where two major leaders are embracing, yet it is very calming and peaceful. Movement is created by the embrace of the two leaders as they lean in, it seems as if it is continuous motion. Innocence and reconciliation can be conveyed through the use of the soft, pastel colors contrasted with the use of bold red branching patterns as borders and in the leaders garments to not undermine the facet of the leader’s power. Various textures are presented in this piece as well, as it is painted on gold paper which harnesses a more brassy texture for this piece. Balance is created through the mastery of creating each element with a pair. The globe is balanced with the sphere that looms over. The lamb is paired with a lion. Proportion in this piece plays an important role contributing to Jahangir’s wish for superiority as he is portrayed as the bigger man with the strong lion underneath him and a smaller, weaker shah on top of a lamb. All of these components work together in achieving unity. 

 

Because the scene depicts a fantasy of Jahangir’s, the scene is obviously portrayed in his bias. Jahangir had always dreamed of meeting Shah Abbas, the Safavid king of Iran, but they never actually met. (“Worlds Within Worlds”). The artist created this piece to proclaim the Mughal emperor’s superiority where he is evidently much larger and more lavishly dressed than the shah. Both men have animals at their feet where a small timid sheep is lying by the feet of the shah and a fierce lion at the feet of Jahangir. Standing on top of the world, symbolical for the meaning of Jahangir’s name “World Seizer.”(“Worlds Within Worlds”). In Indian culture, nature is commonly depicted such as animals and plants to represent gods; whereas, the sheep and the lion depicted represent gods. The giant halo is a common Indian symbol to “emphasie compositions” representing the cyclical basis of Indian cosmology that play in part of agricultural and fertility cycles.  

 

In today’s day and age, this piece is extremely valuable due to it’s antiquity and preservation. Considering the piece is so exquisitely defined and done on gold paper, I’m sure it is worth a hefty price. I think it is valuable in today’s society because it is a living piece of history documented through beautiful pieces of art. I truly enjoyed the piece as well as the rest of the exhibit, not only because of the incredible aesthetic appeal but how the artist is able to capture the political ambitions and personal thoughts of the emperors adding insight to a culture that we might’ve known little about without these pieces of art.