Portrait of Munir al-Mulk known as Aristu Jah, India, Deccan, Hyderabad, early 19th century Gouache, pencil and gold on paper depicting Aristu Jah standing in front of a blue background, facing right, hands clasped in prayer. He is wearing a purple turban with a gold-plated sarpush and is richly adorned with jewels over a white jama with gold braids. Portrait framed with a thin yellow border and a wide red margin. Inscription in black ink on the back: "Native drawings of the Nizam and his Minister sent to me from India" and in pencil "Mushir-ul-mulk of Hyderabad, Gahdar Painter". Page size: 51,5 x 31,8 cm; painting size: 45,3 x 26,3 cm Some paint chips, stains, tears at the edges, some retouching. Provenance: Bonham's, London, April 5, 2011, lot 269. Munir al-Mulk or Mushirul-Mulk, otherwise known as Aristu Jah or Arastu Jah, was Prime Minister of Hyderabad from 1778 to 1804. According to the historian Ghulam Husain Khan, he was a practitioner of the occult sciences and prayers, litanies and divination were part of his daily life. Other very similar portraits of the Prime Minister with his hands clasped in prayer are known, such as a painting in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Southern Asian Art Council (AC1999.55.1) or a portrait in the Prince of Wales Museum in Bombay (22.3584). A Portrait of Munir al-Mulk called Aristu Jah, India, Deccan, Hyderabad, early 19th century