2009.202.210: Portrait of Poet Momin Khan Momin (recto), Sketch of Begum Samru (verso)

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2009.202.210

People

Attributed to Jivan Ram, Indian

Title

Portrait of Poet Momin Khan Momin (recto), Sketch of Begum Samru (verso)

Classification

Drawings

Work Type

drawing

Date

c. 1835

Places

Creation Place: South Asia, India, Delhi

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/217562

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Black ink and opaque watercolor on off-white paper

Dimensions

17 x 11.5 cm (6 11/16 x 4 1/2 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Stuart Cary Welch (by 1983 - 2008,) by descent; to his estate (2008-2009,) gift; to Harvard Art Museum.

Notes:
Object was part of long-term loan to Museum in 1983.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Stuart Cary Welch Collection, Gift of Edith I. Welch in memory of Stuart Cary Welch

Accession Year

2009

Object Number

2009.202.210

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

The recto side of this page features an unfinished portrait of poet, Momin Khan Momin (1800-1851). He was known for his Urdu ghazals, a form of poetry popular on the Indian subcontinent. He is shown here bare-chested and seated cross-legged with his hands in his lap.
The verso side of this page depicts a sketch of Begum Samru (1746-1836) within an oval. Begum Samru was born as Farzana Zeb-un-Nissa. She was a Nautch dancing girl and eventually became the ruler of Sardhana, a small principality near Meerut, a city in Uttar Pradesh. She was head of a professionally trained mercenary army, inherited from her European mercenary husband, Walter Reinhardt Sombre. She took the name Johanna Nobilis Sombre and converted to Catholicism from Islam. She is depicted wearing a hat with a large tassel and a cloak draped over her body.

Publication History

• Stuart Cary Welch and Kim Masteller, From Mind, Heart, and Hand: Persian, Turkish, and Indian Drawings from the Stuart Cary Welch Collection, exh. cat., Yale University Press (New Haven, 2004), pp.118-120, no. 33

Exhibition History

• From Mind, Heart, and Hand: Persian, Turkish, and Indian Drawings from SCWelch, Harvard University Art Museums, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 03/19/2005 - 06/02/2005

Verification Level