Very good overall condition. Two tears - to the lower right folio edge and to the middle right folio border have been repaired, both clearly visible in catalogue illustration. Slight stain to lower hem of figure's green robe also visible in catalogue illustration. Minute abrasions to green ground surrounding figure all seen in catalogue illustration. With infilling to pigment in the tiny patch of green behind his turban and to further areas above his palms and above his head. This lot is exhibited in a temporary frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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Inscribed in bold nasta'liq script on left side of the painted surface - almost certainly by the hand of Emperor Shah Jahan: 

"Shabihi S🍎heikh Amoudi ferestadeh-ye...sharif-e Mecca Mu'azzimah amal Hashim".  

"🧸A likeness of Sheikh 'Amudi envoy of Zayd the Sharif o🧜f Mecca the Glorious, the work of Hashim".

The envoy Sheikh Abd al-Samad 'Amudi stands with his palms placed together, wearing a green and purple robe and white turban, against a verdigris backgroun๊d with light streaks of white cl꧟ouds at top.   A very interesting and highly important portrait and one of the few in the royal albums of Shah Jahan that depict foreign dignitaries.  

The inscription names Hashim (activ🔴e circa 1620-60) as the artist. Hashim was one of the most highly regarded portrait painte🍃rs at the Imperial court. Another portrait by the artist Hashim of Sultan Ibrahim 'Adil Shah of Bijapur in the Metropolitan Museum of Art from the Kevorkian Album (accession no. 55.121.10.33) is similarly inscribed on the left side.  Our present Muraqqa' folio has border designs extremely close to a number of leaves from the Emperor's (or Kevorkian) Album and our painting is a rediscovered folio.

Sheikh Abd al-Samad 'Amudi was an important figure.  His diplomatic mission to the Mughal court happened at a time when Shah Jahan had revived the tradition of sending pilgrims to Mecca and giving charitable donations to the Sharif and scholars and the poor of Mecca.  The Sharif of Mecca Zayd bin Muhsin (r.1631-66) first sent Abd al-Samad 'Amudi as his envoy to the Mughal court in 1643.  It was recorded in the Shah Jahan Nama:

"Arrival of the Key of the Holy House in the Presence of the Fortunate Monarch.  In the early part of Zi'l-Hijja this year 1052 (February 1643 AD) 'Abd al-Samad Amudi arrived at court after having been dispatched to court by the Sharif of Mecca, along with the key of the Holy House by which the seven climes of the earth can be opened.  After paying his respects he presented the key in question to His Majesty and was requited with a robe of honor and a suitable gratuity". 

It is highly significant that he brought with him the key to the Ka'ba to be presented to Shah Jahan.  Sheikh 'Amudi returned to the Mughal court in 1650 and was enrolled as chief judge of the army.  It seems likely that this portrait was done during the first visit of Sheikh Amudi to the court of Shah Jahan which was a more significant diplomatic mission given that his second visit was not mentioned in the Shah Jahan Nama.  Particularly so given the presentation of the key of the Ka'ba - and therefore more likely to have warranted a portrait by a royal artist. Thus the specific dating of the painting ♛can be given as probably 1643.  A rare and important work even within the glories of the Shah Jahan Album.

For very similar examples of inscriptions by Shah Jahan in his distinctive informal hand refer to E. Wright, Muraqqa, Imperial Mughal Albums, Virginia, 2008, nos.61 and 62, pp.384-387; and W. E. Begley and Z. A. Desai, The Shah Jahan Nama of Inayat Khan, Delhi, 1990, p.300.

For other leaves from the Shah Jahan Album in the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York refer to Attributed to Payag: Shah Jahan on Horseback. A Leaf from the Shah Jahan Album (accession no. 55.121.10.21)  and Balchand, Daulat, Murad: Four Portraits. A Leaf from the Shah Jahan Album (accession no. 55.121.10.29).

For further reference see J. Richards, The New Cambridge History of India: The Mughal Empire, Cambridge, 1995, pp.122-123 and Stuart Cary Welch, The Emperor's Album, New York, 1987.

With many thanks to Marcus Fraser for hi🎃s important contributions to this entry.