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Not currently on display at the V&A

Zumrud Shah falls into a pit and is beaten by gardeners

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 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 particular illustration shows the giant Zumrud Shah, Hamza's enemy, who has fallen into a well in a garden. The gardeners suspect him of having stolen fruit from their trees and beat him around the head with their spades while the real culprits, a family of bears, frolic in the foreground.

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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
TitleZumrud Shah falls into a pit and is beaten by gardeners (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Opaque watercolour on prepared cotton backed with paper; Persian text on reverse written on paper backed with cotton; the four layers glued together
Brief description
Zumrud Shah falls into a pit and is beaten by suspicious gardeners. Hamzanama. ca.1562-77.
Physical description
The giant Zumrud Shah has fallen into a well in a garden and is being beaten with sticks by five gardeners. In the foreground, a family of bears frolic beneath a tree; in the background are trees and vines.
Dimensions
  • Painting height: 68.9cm
  • Painting width: 54.7cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
15 (painting) 16 (text)
Object history
Illustration to the epic romance, the Hamzanama, ca.1562-1577 commissioned by 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 Hindustan by the emperor Humayun, work began under his son, Akbar, and took fifteen years to complete.
Subjects depicted
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 particular illustration shows the giant Zumrud Shah, Hamza's enemy, who has fallen into a well in a garden. The gardeners suspect him of having stolen fruit from their trees and beat him around the head with their spades while the real culprits, a family of bears, frolic in the foreground.
Bibliographic references
  • Barnard, Nick: Arts of Asia, vol. 45, no. 5, September - October 2015, "The Parasol Foundation Trust Programme: digitising and cataloguing the V&A's South Asian collection.", p.104, pl. 15. Asok Kumar Das, Wonders of Nature. Ustad Mansur at the Mughal Court, Marg Publications, Mumbai 2021. See fig. I.1, p. 14 (detail).
  • STRONGE, Susan. Painting for the Mughal Emperor: The Art of the Book 1560 – 1660 London : V&A Publications, 2002. 192p, ill. ISBN 1 85177 358 4. p. 35, pl. 21
  • 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. 12
  • Irwin, John, C., A Brief Guide to Indian Art, H.M.S.O. 1962 fig. 11
  • Irwin, John; Indian Art: Victoria & Albert Museum departmental guide, H.M.S.O. ISBN 0 905209117, 1978 fig. 11, p. 11
  • Seyller, John W. & Koch, Ebba, The Adventures of Hamza: Painting and Storytelling in Mughal India, Smithsonian Institution, 2002 pp.100-101
Collection
Accession number
IS.1516-1883

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Record createdJuly 19, 2002
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