English: A disgruntled courtier compares himself to a Brahmin

Source: http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/search/LotDetail.asp?sid=&intObjectID=4160805&SE=CMWCAT04+105174+294375906+&QR=M+1+45+Aqc0000900+95928++Aqc0000900+&entry=india&SU=1&RQ=True&AN=46 (downloaded Sept. 2003)

"PORTRAIT OF A PERSIAN COURTIER. Probably Mughal India, 1620-30. Pen and ink heightened with gouache and gold on paper, the courtier wearing an elaborate turban standing with his hands folded in front of him, inscribed above and below in black, mounted on an album page. Album leaf 11¼ x 7in. (28.5 x 17.7cm.).

Lot Notes: The inscription reads:

   I have been tying the belt of service throughout my life, what is my value?
   I would have been a Brahman, had I tied so many zunnar [=sacred threads]
   In your service, there is no motto or profession for me other than servitude.

The inscription is clearly a complaint of an official to his superior or ruler and may relate to the subject of the painting. This is a sensitive portrait of a young Persian courtier wearing the large turban and moustache fashionable during the reign of Shah Abbas (1587-1629). He is clasping his hands before him and stands with his feet closely together."