recto and verso: early 19th century
India
Object qualities
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Objectbook / magazine / album: Album leaf
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Type of arts & crafts
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MediumInk, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
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SizeH. 15 1/8 in. (38. 4 cm) W. 10 1/4 in. (26 cm)
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Geography detailsAttributed to
India -
Country today
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Daterecto and verso: early 19th century
Source of information
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Type of sourceDatabase “Metropolitan Museum of Art”
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Fund that the source refers toMetropolitan Museum of Art
Description
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This portrait of a sufi is identified along the right border as being the likeness of Shaikh Mu`in al-Din Hasan Chishti (1141–1230), an important member of the Chishtiyya sufi order. Founded in Chisht, a small town near Herat, Afghanistan in 930, the Chishtiyya Sufi Order expanded to India when Mu’in al-Din Hasan Chishti traveled there in 1193. His presence in India led to an expansion of the Chishti order in the Indian subcontinent, which continued to flourish long after his death in 1230. The tomb of Shaikh Mu`in al-Din Hasan Chishti in Ajmer is to this day a popular destination for pilgrims wishing to venerate this respected saint.
Reconstructions of this ornament