The miniature depicts the Crucifixion scene where Christ is nailed to the cross as one of his assailants climbs down a ladder before him. At the lower part of the painting, there are several onlookers dressed in Portuguese outfits surrounding the crucified Christ. The miniature is mounted on a later folio with gold floral illuminated borders. The verso is composed of several 17th century calligraphic panels in nasta’liq script. The miniature was once part of one of the three known illustrated copies of the Mirʾāt al-quds (Mirror of Holiness), a Life of Christ commissioned by the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) from the Jesuit Father Jerome Xavier (1549-1617).
