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An Emperors’ Art: Small, Refined, Jewel Toned

WASHINGTON — Muraqqa is the Persian term for a patched garment traditionally worn by Sufi mystics as a sign of poverty and humility. Yet it is also the word for a gilded and lavishly calligraphed album. This type of muraqqa, a luxury object from the Mughal empire in India, is a patchwork of imagery: portraits of emperors and courtiers, Eastern mystics and Western religious figures; examples of plant and animal life.

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"Akbar Fights with Raja Man Singh," from a copy of the Akbarnama. (circa 1600-03)
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"Mu'in al-Din Chishti Holding a Globe"
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"The Women at the Well of Kanchinpur,"
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"Raja Udai Singh (Mota Raja) in a Gold, Flowered Jama"
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"Majnun in the Wilderness"
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The young Jahangir also commissioned an album called the “Shikarnama,” or “Hunting Book.”
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"A Garden Gathering with a Prince in a Green Jama"
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"Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan with their Ministers,"
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