Painting.
ca.1562-1577 (made)
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. No contemporary, independent version of the text is known and the only remnants of it are those on the backs of the few remaining paintings, making it difficult to reconstruct the stories. Work on the project probably began in about 1562 and took 15 years to complete.
In this episode, Hamza's strong-armed angel Sa'ad dashes enemies to the ground with one hand and leads the army to Barda, where Hamza and the heroes recover their sight. The paint surface is badly damaged.
In this episode, Hamza's strong-armed angel Sa'ad dashes enemies to the ground with one hand and leads the army to Barda, where Hamza and the heroes recover their sight. The paint surface is badly damaged.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | gouache on prepared cotton backed with paper, glued to the text written on paper and backed with cotton, thus making a four-layered folio. |
Brief description | Sa'ad, Hamza's strong-armed angel, dashes enemies to the ground and leads the army to Barda', where Hamza and the heroes recover their sight. Hamzanama. ca. 1562-77 |
Physical description | An armour-clad figure on horseback in the foreground holds aloft another armoured figure with one arm, surrounded by horses (cut off by the borders of the painting) and men who gesture surprise. Behind them, a figure peers out from the entrance gate to a fortified city. The painting surface is extremely damaged and some faces have been repainted. |
Dimensions |
|
Style | |
Marks and inscriptions | (Painting number 23, text number 24.) |
Object history | An illustration to the epic romance of the Hamzanama commissioned by the Mughal emperor Akbar. 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 India by Humayun, work began under Akbar and was said to have taken fifteen years to complete, drawing from artists from all over northern Hindustan. |
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. No contemporary, independent version of the text is known and the only remnants of it are those on the backs of the few remaining paintings, making it difficult to reconstruct the stories. Work on the project probably began in about 1562 and took 15 years to complete. In this episode, Hamza's strong-armed angel Sa'ad dashes enemies to the ground with one hand and leads the army to Barda, where Hamza and the heroes recover their sight. The paint surface is badly damaged. |
Bibliographic references |
|
Collection | |
Accession number | IS.2510-1883 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
Record created | July 8, 2002 |
Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest