Painting, Christ raises a youth from the Dead in Nain

Title

Year/Period

ca 1605

Region

India, Mughal school, Allahabad

Object Type

miniatures (object genre), paintings (visual works)

Material

watercolor (paint), ink, paper (fiber product)

Technique

painting (image-making), papermaking

Dimension

Object size: 36.7 x 23.6 cm

Accession No.

2015-00582

Collection of

Asian Civilisations Museum

This Indian miniature painting of Christ raising a youth from the dead depicts an episode from the Bible (Luke 7:11–17). Set in a burial ground, the pallbearers wear Portuguese outfits. The painting was once part of one of the three illustrated copies of the Mirʾāt al-quds (Mirror of Holiness), a Life of Christ commissioned by the Mughal emperor Akbar (reigned 1556–1605) from the Jesuit Father Jerome Xavier (1549–1617). The commission shows that the Muslim Akbar was quite worldly, and interested in other religions.