Vintage Indian Tapestry of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal

Published by Nevan O Shaughnessy on April 12, 2024April 12, 2024

PRESENTING A BEAUTIFUL and ICONIC Vintage Indian Tapestry of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal.

We are of the opinion that this is from the early 20th Century, circa 1920.

Made of Cotton and hand-painted with an image of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal , with the former presenting the Taj Mahal to his lover Mumtaz against the background setting of a starry night sky with crescent moon. Each of the ‘star crossed lovers’ are kneeling on a rug and both beautifully attired in traditional dress.

A TRULY ICONIC IMAGE!

Very vibrant colors, but the age of the piece is evident from the minor discoloration as evidenced on the white parts in the photos.

We believe this to be a highly desirable piece of Southeast Asian or Indian textile or tapestry and is most likely from Central India as the original collector seems to have had a ‘connection’ with Central India, in that, most of the items he collected were from that region and most were purchased by him at either Christie’s or Sotheby’s NY Auctions between 1999 and 2008. (SEE OUR SOUTHEAST ASIAN ANTIQUITIES SECTION FOR MORE PIECES FROM THIS COLLECTION).

The Taj Mahal (/ˌtɑːdʒ məˈhɑːl, ˌtɑːʒ-/; Arabic: تاج محل‎, lit. ‘Place or Position of the Crown’,[taːdʒ ˈmɛːɦ(ə)l]) is an ivory-white marble Islamic mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned from 1628 to 1658) to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.

Construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643, but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million rupees, which in 2015 would be approximately 52.8 billion rupees (U.S. $827 million). The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by the court architect to the emperor, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.

The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”. It is regarded by many as the best example of Mughal architecture and a symbol of India’s rich history. The Taj Mahal attracts 7–8 million visitors a year and in 2007, it was declared a winner of the New7Wonders of the World (2000–2007) initiative.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal