Johnson 18,18

Zain Khan Kokah (d.1601).

Mughal, c.1595.

Richard Johnson Collection. Purchased 1807.

Inscribed along left edge in Persian in a hand which is probably that of Jahangir: ‘shabih-i zain khan kokah bama’l khan ‘inayat shuda’ (a likeness of Zain Khan Kokah ...) - an ambiguous inscription, but could be interpreted as an attribution to the artist Inayat; numbered ‘2’ in Persian inventory note.

Gouache with gold; mounted with a fragment of a 17th-century Mughal miniature of two pigeons courting by a gold dovecote; on an album leaf with a border of illumination and ‘nasta‘liq’ calligraphy, and an outer margin of gold flowers outlined in black (similar margin on reverse).

102 by 69 mm, pigeons 32 by 73 mm; page 385 by 243 mm.

Reverse: two ‘baits’ of a ‘qasidah’ written in ‘nasta‘liq’ calligraphy by Mir ‘Ali; 17th century; decoration of animals and flowers added between the lines.

Reproduced: Losty (1986), 24. A coloured version is in the V & A Museum IS-91 1965.

Zain Khan stands facing left ,his hands crossed at his waist. He wears a white jama with illuminated’ patka,’ and orange ‘pai’jama’, a katar’ stuck in his belt; pale green background.

Note: Zain Khan Kokah was the son of one of Akbar’s nurses, Pichah Jan, and was hence titled ‘kokah’ or foster-brother. In 1586 he was sent on an expedition against the Afghans, and later was appointed governor of Kabul (Abu’l Fazl’s Ain i Akbari (Calcutta, 1873-94), I, 344-46). The portrait is probably one of a large series commissioned by Akbar late in the sixteenth century (Abu’l Fazl, I, 108-109).