400-year-old Mughal portrait sold for £571,500, nearly 5 times estimate

A Mughal-era album page featuring a portrait of a courtier holding a book and calligraphy signed in 1608-09 has sold for £571,500 at an auction in London. The page, created more than four centuries ago, had entered the collection of a British baron by 1937 and later passed through several auctions before becoming the leading lot in a sale of Indian paintings and calligraphy in April 2026. According to the official website of British auction house Christie's, the painting is attributed to Manohar, a Mughal artist active in the early 17th century, while the calligraphy on the reverse is signed by Abdullah al-Husayni and dated AH 1017, corresponding to 1608-09.