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Zain Khan Kokah.

Catalogue reference: Johnson 18,18

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This record is about the Zain Khan Kokah. dating from c 1595.

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Reference
Johnson 18,18
Title
Zain Khan Kokah.
Date
c 1595
Description

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).

Held by
British Library: Asian and African Studies
Former department reference
J.18,18
Legal status
Not Public Record(s)
Language
Not applicable
Physical description
1 Item
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Physical condition
Medium: opaque watercolour.
Unpublished finding aids
Toby Falk and Mildred Archer, Indian miniatures in the India Office Library (London: Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1981), 12iv
Publication note(s)
Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire, by J.P. Losty and M. Roy (London, 2012), fig. 37
Record URL
https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/5a75422d-a6ba-402c-a251-25b4177e6b1b/

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Within the fonds: (British Library) Johnson Album

British Library, Visual Arts, Richard Johnson Collection

22 records

Within the file: Johnson 18

Total of 20 leaves separately mounted depicting Mughal emperors, princes, courtiers...

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Zain Khan Kokah.