Realistic portraiture emerged at the court of the Mughal emperors in India at the end of the 16th century. Portraits, featuring members of the royal family as well as dignitaries and religious figures, were produced to be inserted and collected in albums (muraqqa’), a form of luxury book that was regularly commissioned by rulers and princes at this time.

This is a preparatory drawing for a royal portrait of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned 1627–1658), the builder of the Taj Mahal. The portrait follows the conventions of Mughal royal portraiture, in which the person was represented with his head in profile and the body in a three-quarter view.