Portrait of Nawab Da’ud Khan with Falcon

Standing facing right is Nawab Daud Khan. He bears a dark mustache and a thick, full, dark beard. He wears a white turban, a long white robe (jama), a white waist sash (patka), white trousers, and brown slippers. Tucked into his waist sash is a punch-dagger (katar). He holds in his right hand a white scarf. A peregrine falcon perches on his left hand which is protected by a brown falconer’s glove. A small pendant hangs around the falcon’s neck, while red jess strings hang from its feet. The Nawab stands against a gold background with a thin strip of horizon at the top. Just under the red horizon is an inscription in Arabic identifying the figure as “Nawab Daud Khan” and providing the date of 1169 A.H. or A.D. 1756. “Nawab Daud Khan” may be referring to Daud Khan Panni (d. 1715) who was a Mughal commander under Aurangzeb (r. 1656-1707), Nawab of the Carnatic (a dependency of Hyderabad), and later in his life, the Viceroy of Deccan. He was originally from Bijapur, Karnataka.