Dancers from Malwa Perform before Akbar
- Object:
- Place of origin:
India (possibly, made)
Pakistan (possibly, made)
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
Kesav Kalan (artist)
Dharmdas (artist)
- Materials and Techniques:
Opaque watercolour and gold on paper
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
- Download image
This painting by the Mughal court artists Kesav Kalan and Dharmdas is an illustration from the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar). It shows dancers, captured after the defeat of Baz Bahadur, the Muslim ruler of Malwa in north central India, performing at court for the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605).
The Akbarnama was commissioned by Akbar as the official chronicle of his reign. It was written in Persian by his court historian and biographer, Abu’l Fazl, between 1590 and 1596, and the V&A’s partial copy of the manuscript is thought to have been illustrated between about 1592 and 1595. This is thought to be the earliest illustrated version of the text, and drew upon the expertise of some of the best royal artists of the time. Many of these are listed by Abu’l Fazl in the third volume of the text, the A’in-i Akbari, and some of these names appear in the V&A illustrations, written in red ink beneath the pictures, showing that this was a royal copy made for Akbar himself. After his death, the manuscript remained in the library of his son Jahangir, from whom it was inherited by Shah Jahan.
The V&A purchased the manuscript in 1896 from Frances Clarke, the widow of Major General John Clarke, who bought it in India while serving as Commissioner of Oudh between 1858 and 1862.
Physical description
The famous dancers of Baz Bahadur perform for Akbar following the defeat of the Malwa ruler in 1561. The dancers are shown wearing an unusual combination of layered skirts and trousers not seen elsewhere in the Akbarnama. The image is overlaid by two panels of Persian text.
Place of Origin
India (possibly, made)
Pakistan (possibly, made)
Date
1590-1595 (painted)
Artist/maker
Kesav Kalan (artist)
Dharmdas (artist)
Materials and Techniques
Opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Marks and inscriptions
Tarh Kesav Kalan
Amal Dharmdas Composition by Kesav the Elder
Work[= painting] by Dharmdas
Dimensions
Height: 32.9 cm, Width: 25 cm
Object history note
The Akbarnama was commissioned by the emperor Akbar as the official chronicle of his reign. It was written by Abu'l Fazl between 1590 and 1596 and is thought to have been illustrated between about 1592 and 1594 by at least 49 different artists from Akbar's studio. After Akbar's death in 1605, the manuscript remained in the library of his son, Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) and later that of Shah Jahan (r.1628-1658). The Museum purchased it in 1896 from Mrs Frances Clarke, the widow of Major-General John Clarke, who bought it in India while serving as Commissioner of Oudh between 1858 and 1862.
Historical significance: It is thought to be the first illustrated copy of the Akbarnama. It drew upon the expertise of some of the best royal painters of the time, many of whom receive special mention by Abu'l Fazl in the A'in-i-Akbari,("Institutes of Akbar"), the third volume of the Akbarnama. The Persian inscriptions in red ink on the bottom of the paintings name the artists.
Descriptive line
Dancers from Malwa perform before Akbar. Painting from the Akbarnama, 1590-1595.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Susan Stronge, Painting for the Mughal Emperor. The Art of the Book 1560-1650, V&A Publications, London, 2002, pl. 45, p.67
The Indian Heritage; Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule: V&A publication, 1982, ISBN 0906969263, p.33, no.26.(Andrew Topsfield)
Associated names
Fazl, Abu'l
Production Note
Composition by Kesav the Elder, painted by Dharmdas.
Materials
Paper; Gold
Techniques
Painted; Contour drawing
Subjects depicted
Dancers; Akbar; Bahadur, Baz; Malwa
Categories
Paintings
Collection code
SSEA
