Not currently on display at the V&A

The Witch Anqarut ties Malik Iraj to a tree

Painting
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 for Akbar 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. The only text to have survived from Akbar's commission is that pasted to the back of each painting. So much of the original is missing that it is now difficult to follow the complex narrative, which has many stories within stories.

This illustration shows the witch Anqarut in the guise of a beautiful young woman, who hopes to seduce the legendarily handsome young king Malik Iraj, whom she has captured and tied to a tree.

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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
TitleThe Witch Anqarut ties Malik Iraj to a tree (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
The witch Anqarut ties Malik Iraj to a tree, transforms herself into a young maiden, and tries to seduce him. Hamzanama. Mughal court, ca.1562-77
Physical description
Two figures perch in the upper branches of trees whose foliage fills most of the composition. On the left, the witch Anqarut has assumed the guise of a beautiful young woman. On the right is her captive, the young king Malik Iraj, whom she has bound to the tree and is trying to seduce. Both their faces have suffered later disfigurement.
Dimensions
  • Width: 51cm
Style
Gallery label
THE WITCH ANKARUT TIES MALIK IRAJ TO A TREE Illustration to the Hamzanama Gouache and gold painted on cotton, backed with paper Mughal c. 1562-77 IS.1512-1883 The ‘Book of Hamza’ describes the epic adventures of the Muslim hero and his followers confronting infidels, dragons, giants and other enemies. Fewer than 200 of the original 1400 illustrations have survived. The only remaining contemporary text is on the back of each picture. The incomplete narrative is therefore difficult to follow. Here, we know only that a hideous witch has tied up a king of legendary beauty. She changes herself into a lovely young woman and tries to seduce him.(27/9/2013)
Object history
An illustration to the epic romance, the Hamzanama, ca.1562-1577. Bought for the museum by Caspar Purdon Clarke in Srinagar in 1881.
Historical context
The 'Hamzanama' was the first major project undertaken by the new painting studio of the Mughal court. Directed by two Iranian masters brought to Hindustan by the emperor Humayun, work began under his son, Akbar, and took 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 for Akbar 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. The only text to have survived from Akbar's commission is that pasted to the back of each painting. So much of the original is missing that it is now difficult to follow the complex narrative, which has many stories within stories.

This illustration shows the witch Anqarut in the guise of a beautiful young woman, who hopes to seduce the legendarily handsome young king Malik Iraj, whom she has captured and tied to a tree.
Bibliographic references
  • Binyon and Arnold, 1921, pl. 2 Heinrich Gluck, Die indischen Miniaturen des Haemzae-Romanes im Osterreichischen Museum fur Kunst und Industrie in Wien und in anderen Sammlungen, Leipzig, Zurich and Vienna: Amalthea-Verlag, 1925, fig. 40 J.V.S. Wilkinson, Mughal Painting, London: Faber and Faber, 1948, pl. 2 Hamza-nama: Vollstandige wiedergabe der bekannten Blatter der Handscrift aus dem Bestanden aller erreichbaren Sammlungen. 2 Band. Die Blatter aus dem Victoria & Albert Museum London. Graz: Akademische Druck-u.Verlaganstalt, 1982, pl. 10
  • Stronge, Susan, Painting for the Mughal Emperor. The Art of the Book 1560-1650, V&A Publications 2002, pl. 13, p. 28.
  • C. Stanley Clarke; Twelve Mogul Paintings of the School of Humaym (16th century) illustrating the Romance of Amir Hamzah, H.M.S.O. 1921 pl. 4
  • Seyller, John W. & Koch, Ebba, The Adventures of Hamza: Painting and Storytelling in Mughal India, Smithsonian Institution, 2002 pp.242-243
Collection
Accession number
IS.1512-1883

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Record createdJuly 8, 2002
Record URL
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