A STANDING PORTRAIT OF NAWAB SAFDAR JANG, GOVERNOR... Lot 163

A STANDING PORTRAIT OF NAWAB SAFDAR JANG, GOVERNOR OF AWADH (1708 – 1754) Awadh (Oudh), Mughal Northern India, second half 18th century Opaque pigments, ink, and gold on paper, the vertical-format portrait depicting the Nawab of Awadh, Safdar Jang, a major political figure during the declining years of the Mughal Empire, standing on a riverside terrace of a palatial compound, holding a letter or official document in his right hand, wearing an elegant Persianate hunting coat with fur lining and floral embroidery on a golden ground, dressed in the typical attire reserved for elite members of the Mughal court, shown in profile as expected for official Mughal courtly portraits commissioned from the Shah Jahan period onwards, on the opposite riverbank in the background a large procession with elephants and troops, set within concentric dark blue, taupe, and gold-sprinkled brown borders, and purple and white rules, the top with an identifying inscription in black ink nasta'liq script within a red-lined cloudband reading 'Portrait of the deceased Nawab Safdar Jang', mounted, glazed and framed, 41.5cm x 35.5cm. Provenance: Bonhams London, New Bond Street, 5 April 2011, lot 271.