A prince, perhaps Sultan Parviz, with female companions, attributed to Bishn Das, India, Mughal, circa 1610

Although later inscribed to Manohar, stylistically the painting compares to the work of Bishn Das. Two paintings ascribed to Bish Das, one from Jahangir's Anvar-i Suhayli of 1603 depicting the Sultan of Baghdad and his Chinese princess (see Losty and Roy 2012, fig.47) and the other a Scene from a Royal birth from the Jahangirnama circa 1620 (see Beach 2011, p.273, fig.11) are closely comparable to the current painting. Bishn Das's treatment of female faces is characterised by a square head, a rather jowly jawline and sharp nose seen in the women of these paintings. His favouring of pastel shades in solid blocks of colour and the delicate rendering of the diaphanous orhnis and dupattas is also similar. The other artists working on the Anvar-i Suhayli in Allahabad worked under the guidance of Aqa Riza in a Persian style although Bishn Das is said to have embarked on a more naturalistic approach. Jahangir later wrote of Bishn Das's strength in portraiture, in a letter of 1619 "At the time when I sent Khan 'Alam to Persia, I had sent with him a painter of the name of Bishn Das, who was unequalled in his age for taking likenesses... He had drawn the likeness of most of them, and especially had taken that of my brother the Shah exceedingly well, so that when I showed it to any of his servants, they said it was exceedingly well drawn." (Verma 1994, p.111). Bishn Das was to become one of Jahangir's favourite painters and is said to have awarded him with the gift of an elephant (ibid.).

The young prince depicted in the current painting is believed to by Jahangir's son Sultan Parviz (b.1590). A painting attributed to Manohar from Jahangir's Divan of Hafiz in the British Library depicts Jahangir playing polo with his sons (see Losty and Roy 2012, fig.58.). Not only facially does he bear a likeness but his distinctive gold brocaded jama is almost identical. 

Compositionally the painting compares to a later painting by Bal Chand (illustrated in Welch 1973, p.108 no.65) that depicts Shah Shuja with his beloved seated on a terrace under a canopy of very similar construction. The compositional device of placing figures of importance on an elevated platform under a canopy appears in Mughal group portraits from the end of Akbar's reign (see Beach 1978 fig.11 and Leach 1995 pl.48) and continues throughout the Mughal period.