Ikhlas Khan, an Abyssinian officer in the service of the 'Adil Shahi Dynasty', c.1640 (gouache...

Illustrator: Chand Muhammad Bijapur, c.1640 Source/Shelfmark: J.23,2, Ikhlas Khan, an Abyssinian officer in the service of the 'Adil Shahi dynasty, facing left, stands in a field holding a straight sword in his right hand, and resting his left hand on the black shield at his side. Two 'talwars' are half-obscured by the shield and a 'katar' is stuck in his 'patka'. He wears a striped gold brocade jama, a yellow and green turban and orange trousers. There is a background of grey sky with a strip of blue and white clouds. Opaque watercolour. Deccani/Bijapur style. Gouache with gold; on an album page with inner narrow hatched gold border and silver-sprinkled paper margin. 183 by 118 mm; page 263 by 174 mm. Originally published/produced in Bijapur, c.1640. Ikhlas Khan, minister in the court of Sultan Mohammed Adil Shah (r.1627-56). The Abyssinian officer Ikhlas Khan born Malik Raihan, a Habshi or African noble of Abyssinian descent in the service of the Bijapur sultans, was given the title Ikhlas Khan after he contrived the murder of the pro-Mughal minister Khawas Khan in 1635 at the time of Shah Jahan’s advance on the Deccan. He rose to the position of chief minister under Muhammad ‘Adil Shah (reg. 1627-56) in the Bijapur sultanate. Despite having to submit to Shah Jahan in 1636, Bijapur under his leadership was then free to expand further to the south into Hindu territory in southern Karnataka