Johnson 59,7

Khwajagi Muhammad Husain.

Mughal, c.1595.

Richard Johnson Collection. Purchased 1807.

Inscribed on background in Persian characters: ‘khvajagi muhammad husain’; on reverse: ‘tasvir-i shah khvajagi husain’ (portrait of Shah Khwajagi Husain); Persian inventory note (not numbered).

Gouache; paper border with ruled lines.

116 by 63 mm; page 223 by 115 mm.

A square seal on the reverse bears the date AH1188/AD1774-75; other seals and inscriptions have been erased from the reverse of the miniature.

Khwajagi Muhammad Husain, dressed in white, leans forward to the right, his left hand on the head of his staff, and with his right hand gesturing behind him; green background.

Note: Khwajagi Muhammad Husain came from Kabul, where he subsequently served for Akbar. He was made commander of 1,000, and died in AH1021/AD1612-13 soon after his return from Kashmir where he had been officiating as governor (Abu’l Fazl’s Ain i Akbari (Calcutta, 1873-94), I, 485; Jahangir’s Memoirs (London, 1909-14), II, 223, 229). Jahangir’s description of Khwajagi Muhammad Husain at the time of his death fits closely with this portrait of him: ‘He left no son and was beardless, and not a single hair of moustache or whiskers appeared on him. At the time of speaking he spoke very shrilly, and was looked upon as an eunuch’ (Jahangir’s Memoirs (London, 1909-14), II, 233).