Surrounded by an open pen box, manuscript, portfolio and an astrolabe, hinting at his keen interest in astronomy, the second Mughal Emperor Humayun (r. 1531–40 and 1555–6) kneels on a felt rug in a paradisiacal garden as he reads a verse from the Bustan (‘Fragrant Garden’) of Sa’di. An inscription on the side of the rug ascribes the posthumous portrait to the Indian artist Mohan in the year 1603 (see cat. no. 24) for a slightly later painting by the artist). In contrast to most representations of Humayun, he does not wear the distinctive pointed turban, known as the taj-e izzat, which the Emperor introduced to the Mughal court after his stay in Iran in 1543–4.^[53] Instead he sports a round Timurid cap, suggesting that Mohan based this painting on a pre-1544 portrait of the Emperor. Humayun was known for his love of textiles and is shown here wearing silk robes finely embroidered with gold thread with a 'cloud-collar' design around the neck. His outer garment is typical of the early sixteenth century with a scalloped horizontal slit in the sleeves above the elbow so that it can be worn long- or short-sleeved as desired. The verse warns that he who wastes his time in iniquity ‘burns the harvest of his life’,^[54] perhaps a reference to the Emperor’s notorious addiction to opium.

Consistent with Iranian conventions, the painting is composed of fine strokes and strong outlines with little suggestion of anatomical modelling. The abstract sense of space allows the viewer to situate the deceased Emperor in an imagined, non-temporal, paradisiacal realm.