Temple idols fall and the sea dries up on the birth of the Prophet Muhammad
Painting
ca. 1562-1577 (made)
ca. 1562-1577 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Hamzanama, or 'Book of Hamza' was commissioned by the great Mughal emperor Akbar in the mid-16th century. The epic story of a character based very loosely on the life of the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad chronicles the fantastic adventures of Hamza as he and his band of heroes fight against the enemies of Islam. The stories, from a long-established oral tradition, were written down in Persian, the language of the court, in multiple volumes. These originally had 1400 illustrations, of which fewer than 200 survive today. Work probably began in about 1562 and took 15 years to complete.
This illustration depicts the miraculous events that were said to have taken place in Mecca at the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. Idols fell from the walls in places of worship and the water in the sea drained away. At some time in the painting's history, probably in the 19th century, the faces of all the living beings have been obliterated.
This illustration depicts the miraculous events that were said to have taken place in Mecca at the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. Idols fell from the walls in places of worship and the water in the sea drained away. At some time in the painting's history, probably in the 19th century, the faces of all the living beings have been obliterated.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Temple idols fall and the sea dries up on the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | gouache on prepared cotton backed with paper; Persian text on reverse written on paper backed with cotton; the four layers glued together |
| Brief description | At the birth of the Prophet, temple idols fall and the sea dries up. Hamzanama. ca.1562-77. |
| Physical description | The painting records the miraculous events that accompanied the birth of the Prophet Muhammad in Mecca when temple idols were said to fall from their places in halls of worship. At the top left, pictures of deities seated in an Indian manner crash to the ground as onlookers make conventional gestures of amazement; in the foreground characters point at the waters of the sea draining away, leaving fish and acquatic beasts thrashing around on the seabed, and at left the idol-worshippers tear their hair and fall to the ground in despair at the destruction of the images of their deities. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Object history | An illustration to the epic romance of the Hamzanama, or 'Book of Hamza', ca.1562-1577 commissioned by the Mughal emperor Akbar. bought for the museum by Caspar Purdon Clarke in Srinagar in 1881. |
| Historical context | The production of the illustrated volumes of the Hamzanama ("Book of Hamza") was the first major undertaking of the new Mughal painting studio. Directed by two Iranian masters brought to Hindustan by the emperor Humayun, work began early in the reign of his son, Akbar, and was said to have taken fifteen years to complete. |
| Summary | The Hamzanama, or 'Book of Hamza' was commissioned by the great Mughal emperor Akbar in the mid-16th century. The epic story of a character based very loosely on the life of the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad chronicles the fantastic adventures of Hamza as he and his band of heroes fight against the enemies of Islam. The stories, from a long-established oral tradition, were written down in Persian, the language of the court, in multiple volumes. These originally had 1400 illustrations, of which fewer than 200 survive today. Work probably began in about 1562 and took 15 years to complete. This illustration depicts the miraculous events that were said to have taken place in Mecca at the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. Idols fell from the walls in places of worship and the water in the sea drained away. At some time in the painting's history, probably in the 19th century, the faces of all the living beings have been obliterated. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.1509-1883 |
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| Record created | July 8, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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