NDLI: The Court of Shah Alam II

Please wait, while we are loading the content...

Conference Proceeding

Culture Heritage

Food and Culture

Gazettes and Gazetteers

Intangible Cultural Heritage

Museum Collections

Fragment of Needle

Agricultural Implement

Jahangir and Noor Jahan

Appliances of Narcotic

Archaeological Collection

Architectural Fragment

Architecture Panel

Armoury and Weapons

Arms and Armour

Bronze Collection

Central Asian Antiquity

Domestic Appliance

Dress and Headgear

Educational Artifact

Fishing Implement

Freedom Struggle

Household Object

Medals and Badge

Modern Painting

Musical Instrument

Nehru Collection

Numismatics and Epigraphy

Ornamental Plaque Or Motif

A Fragment of a Scroll Painting

A Madras Servant in His Scarlet Turban

A Vaishnava Yogi and a Yogini

Fragment of a Scroll Painting

Francois Bernier

Ghazi-ud-din Haider

Illustration of Scene from Panchatantra

Jahangir with a Fairy

Late Nizam Mahboob Ali Khan

Mughal Painting

Nawab Nazim Ali Jah

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah

Nawab Zulfiqar Khan

Portrait of Aurangzeb

Portrait of H. H. Nizam

Portrait of Maharajadhiraja Madho Singh Ji

Portrait of Mir Usman Ali Khan

Portrait of Mughal Prince

Portrait of Salar Jung I

Portrait of a Raja with Attendant

Raja Sir Tanjore Madhava Rao, K.C.S.I

Fragment of a Scroll Painting (Patachitra)

Portrait of a Lady

Portrait of a Seated Woman

Portrait of a Royal Lady

Marriage Procession of Dara Shikoh

Ladies Playing Phukri

Worshipping Tulsi Plant

Portrait of Maharana Pratap Singh II of Udaipur

Prince Bedar Bakht, Grandson of Aurangzeb and the Governor of Western Deccan Enjoying Music

A Scene from Ratnavali

Nawab Asaf-ud-Daulah of Awadh in a Garden

The Court of Shah Alam II

Samudra Manthan Based on The Persian Translation of The Mahabharat called the Razmnama

Apples and a Glass of Wine

Vishnu as Dwarf asking for Three Steps of Land

Pre-Columbian and Western Art

Religious Article

Ritualistic Objects

Seals And Sealing

Stone Sculpture

Travel and Transport

Bench used by Mahatma Gandhi

Ashurnasirpal II and Attendant

Musical Instruments of India

Newspaper Clipping

Technical Report

Textile Freedom

Textiles Museum Collections

The Court of Shah Alam II

Content Provider	Indian Culture
Organization	National Museum, New Delhi
Temporal Coverage	Modern
Description	This painting depicting Shah Alam II dates back to the 19th century. It is currently on display at the Indian Miniature Paintings Gallery at the National Museum, New Delhi. Historical Significance :- Shah Alam II (also known Ali Gauhar) was the sixteenth Mughal Emperor. He inherited a crumbling and a rather small Mughal empire from his father Alamgir II in 1759. During his reign, the Mughal Empire extended only from Delhi to Palam - a suburb of Delhi, which was aptly described in Persian as 'Sultanat-e-Shah Alam, Az Dilli ta Palam' (The Kingdom of Shah Alam is from Delhi to Palam only). The fortunes of Shah Alam II rarely prospered during his lifetime. Cultural Significance :- The Peacock Throne in the picture was built by Shah Alam’s ancestor Emperor Shah Jahan to display the wealth, glory and splendour of the Mughal Empire. However, the Peacock Throne shown in this painting is a replica of the original throne. The original throne is said to be stolen by Nadir Shah, a Persian Emperor and was lost after his assassination in 1747. The throne depicted in the painting is a replacement throne modeled on the original and is made of gold and semi-precious and precious stones. The throne, like the original, has twelve columns and four peacocks carrying pearl necklaces - two on either end of the throne and two on top of the throne. The throne was built in the shape of a peacock engraved with precious stones such as rubies, diamonds, emeralds and exquisite pearls were placed in a manner to imitate the colours of a peacock. Three cushions were placed in the centre of the throne. The Emperor sat on a large and round cushion at the back and two flat cushions on either side. Artistic Significance :- The painting of the Court of Shah Alam II painted by Khairullah portrays the Emperor seated on the Peacock Throne in the center and on an elevated platform highlighting his position in society. The Emperor has a halo around his head, denoting his position as a superior being. The artist through this painting has tried to recreate an air of luxury. Stories and legends :- There have been several theories around the whereabouts of the original Peacock Throne. Some claim the Peacock Throne has been dismantled and its parts were dispersed with or sold around Iran. There is also a claim that the British captured the Throne and while they were transporting it to London the sailing got shipwrecked and the sank, and no one has been able to locate it till date. Style :- Mughal Miniature Painting This painting depicting Shah Alam II dates back to the 19th century. It is currently on display at the Indian Miniature Paintings Gallery at the National Museum, New Delhi. Historical Significance
File Format	JPG / JPEG
Language	English
Publisher	National Museum
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Peacock Throne Emperor Shah Alam II Miniature Painting
Content Type	Image
Resource Type	Painting

Central Library (ISO-9001:2015 Certified)
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Kharagpur, West Bengal, India | PIN - 721302

See location in the Map
03222 282435
Mail: support@ndl.gov.in

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in