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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

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu