Which extraordinary painting of the early Mughal period, done in opaque watercolour on cotton, surprises the viewer by its size and complex structure?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Princes of the House of Timur
Option (1) A Prince and a Hermit — Incorrect. This is a folio from the Diwan of Amir Shahi, dated 1595, from Akbar’s time.
Option (2) Babur inspecting the fort of Gwalior — Incorrect. This is a Baburnama painting by Bhure, dated 1598, made under Akbar.
Option (3) Jahangir in Darbar — Incorrect. This court scene is from the Jahangirnama, by Abul Hasan and Manohar, 1620.
Option (4) Princes of the House of Timur — Correct. This early work (1545–50), probably by Abd us Samad, is in opaque watercolour on cotton. Its size and complex structure surprise the viewer.
Note: This topic was not named in the CUET 2026 syllabus, but it was part of the NCERT chapter. In 2025 and 2026, NTA also asked questions on topics in NCERT that the CUET syllabus did not name. So our mocks have questions from every part of the NCERT chapter, to give you enough practice. Read the whole chapter, not only the sub-topics named in the syllabus.
NCERT (2026-27): “Early Mughal Painting …When we look at an extraordinary Mughal painting from the early period, Princes of the House of Timur (1545–50), probably by Safavid artist, Abd us Samad, in opaque watercolour on cotton, we are surprised by its size and complex structure and display of historical portraits. A prized possession of the imperial family, it has portraits that were painted over the original to register the portraits of successive members of the Mughal dynasty. So, visible in their physical likeness are portraits of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan painted subsequently over those painted during the reign of Humayun.”
“Princes of the House of Timur, Abd us Samad, 1545–50, British Museum, London” |
