Guru Nanak and his companions Mardana and Bhai Bala

Guru Nanak (1469–1539), Sikhism’s historical founder, is shown here in one of his most recognizable representations: in a seated pose and accompanied by his companions Mardana and Bhai (“brother”) Bala. Nanak is here depicted as a king of both the worldly and sacred realms using the pictorial language conventional for royal portraiture. Like a maharaja, Nanak’s figure is larger in scale than the others; he is seated on a low throne beneath a canopy, with Bala deferentially fanning him with a peacock-feather fan. Nanak’s role as a great teacher is conveyed through the book of sacred scriptures and prayer beads that he holds and by the presence of his disciple Mardana, who sits at the guru’s feet.