This lithograph is taken from plate 1 of Emily Eden's 'Portraits of the Princes and People of India'. Eden here sketches Dost Mohammed Khan with two of his sons, Muhammad Akram Khan and Haider Khan, and his cousin Abd al-Ghani Khan.
The erstwhile Emir of Afghanistan, Dost Mohammad was deposed by the British and exiled to Calcutta in 1841, making way for the British ally Shah Shuja. After the siege of Kabul and the retreat of British troops, Dost Mohammed returned to Kabul and ruled for 20 years. Eden was a skilled watercolourist and sister of the Governor General, Lord Auckland. She used her unique access to important people to paint them at close quarters.
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