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Not currently on display at the V&A

Painting

ca. 1590 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Babur (r. 1526-1531), a Central Asian prince descended from the great ruler Timur, was the founder of the Mughal empire. He wrote an account of his life in his first language, Chaghatay Turkish. By the time Akbar succeeded to the throne, few at court understood the language, and in 1589 the emperor ordered Babur's memoirs to be translated into Persian. Several illustrated copies were made for the emperor. In this page from a copy done in about 1590, an event of 1582 celebrating Babur's recent victory over Ibrahim Lodi is depicted. The new ruler is shown seated beneath a deep red rectangular canopy, sitting on a low platform receiving Uzbek envoys in the garden full of flowers and blossoming trees. Behind him, at the top of the composition, are the red sandstone walls of a city, with figures being allowed entry through a wooden door in the gateway.The time taken to complete the painting, 50 days, is recorded in minute lettering at bottom left of the page. A contemporary inscription records the name of the artist, Ramdas.

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read The arts of the Mughal Empire The great age of Mughal art lasted from about 1580 to 1650 and spanned the reigns of three emperors: Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Hindu and Muslim artists and craftsmen from the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent worked with Iranian masters in the masculine environment of the r...

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour on paper
Brief description
Painting, Baburnama illustration, Babur receiving Uzbek and Rajput envoys in garden at Agra, by Ram Das, opaque watercolour on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590
Physical description
Painting, opaque watercolour on paper, Baburnama illustration, by Ram Das, Babur receiving Uzbek and Rajput envoys in a garden at Agra. Babur, seated beneath a scarlet rectangular canopy, sits on a low takht receiving envoys in a garden full of flowers and blossoming trees. Behind him, at the top of the composition, are the red sandstone walls of a city, with figures being allowed entry through a wooden door in the gateway.
Dimensions
  • Painted surface height: 24.3cm
  • Painted surface width: 13.5cm
  • Page height: 26.4cm
  • Page width: 16.7cm
Content description
Babur receiving Uzbek and Rajput envoys in a garden at Agra. Babur, seated beneath a scarlet rectangular canopy, sits on a low takht receiving envoys in a garden full of flowers and blossoming trees. Behind him, at the top of the composition, are the red sandstone walls of a city, with figures being allowed entry through a wooden door in the gateway.
Style
Marks and inscriptions
Ramdas 187 (The time taken to complete the painting, 50 days, is recorded in minute lettering at bottom left of the page.)
Translation
[Name of the artist] [illustration number]
Gallery label
BABUR RECEIVING ENVOYS IN A GARDEN From an imperial copy of the Baburnama (“Book of Babur”) Opaque watercolour and gold on paper Mughal, by Ramdas ca.1590 IM.275-1913 Babur (r. 1526-1531), a Central Asian prince descended from the great Timur, was the founder of the Mughal empire. He wrote an account of his life in his first language, Chaghatay Turkish. By the time Akbar succeeded to the throne, few at court understood it, and in 1589 he ordered the memoirs to be translated into Persian. Several illustrated copies were made for the emperor. (1980)
Credit line
Purchased from Messrs luzac & Co., 46 Great Russell Street
Object history
S.A.A Rizvi, in Religious and Intellectual History of the Muslims in Akbar's Reign (Delhi, 1975, 220-221), notes:
The Babur Nama, in Chaghta'i Turkish, a mine of information relating to Central Asia, Kabul and India, was of an absorbing interest for the Indian Timurids. The portions relating to the Indian period of Babur's autobiography had already been translated by his sadr, Zainu'd Din Khwafi, into Persian. In 994/1584 Mirza Payandah Hasan Ghaznavi commenced its translation at the insistence of Bihruz Khan (who was afterwards given the title of Naurang Khan by Akbar and died as a governor of Junahgarh in 1002/1593-94), but he could not translate the account beyond the first sixth and a part of the seventh year. Subsequently one Muhammad Quli Mughal HIsari continued the work and brought it down to 935/1528-29. Akbar ordered Mirza 'Abdu'r Rahim Khan-i Khanan to translate it again and he completed the work in 998/1589. He presented his translation to the Emperor as he was returning from Kabul on 24 November 1589. The Khan-i Khanan excelled all the previous translators.

The museum bought 16 folios from the Baburnama at the end of December 1912 (IM.260-274-1913) from Luzac & Co for £250. This folio was bought separately, in March 1913 from the same source, for £25. The double page composition of Babur directing the laying out of a garden (IM.276&a-1913) was bought at the same time as this, for £50.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Babur (r. 1526-1531), a Central Asian prince descended from the great ruler Timur, was the founder of the Mughal empire. He wrote an account of his life in his first language, Chaghatay Turkish. By the time Akbar succeeded to the throne, few at court understood the language, and in 1589 the emperor ordered Babur's memoirs to be translated into Persian. Several illustrated copies were made for the emperor. In this page from a copy done in about 1590, an event of 1582 celebrating Babur's recent victory over Ibrahim Lodi is depicted. The new ruler is shown seated beneath a deep red rectangular canopy, sitting on a low platform receiving Uzbek envoys in the garden full of flowers and blossoming trees. Behind him, at the top of the composition, are the red sandstone walls of a city, with figures being allowed entry through a wooden door in the gateway.The time taken to complete the painting, 50 days, is recorded in minute lettering at bottom left of the page. A contemporary inscription records the name of the artist, Ramdas.
Bibliographic references
  • Asok Kumar Das, Dawn of Mughal Painting, Bombay 1982, Plate VI, page 20 Susan Stronge, Painting for the Mughal Emperor. The art of the book 1560-1650, V&A Publications, 2002, plate 57, p. 88.
  • Stronge, S. Made for Mughal Emperors. Royal Treasures from Hindustan. London and New York, 2010 p.104, pl. 72
Collection
Accession number
IM.275-1913

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Record createdApril 23, 2008
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