Akbar
Painting
ca. 1590-95 (made)
ca. 1590-95 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This illustration to the Akbarnama, the history of the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar, exemplifies Akbar's increasingly spiritual preoccupations from about 1570. His historian, Abu’l Fazl, frequently refers to the disparity between the apparent frivolity of events in the material world, and the metaphysical nature of the emperor’s reflections at the same time. On this occasion he writes of Akbar: ‘in appearance his mind was taken up with the pleasure of hunting; inwardly, there was in his heart the longing to know God’. Akbar had set out with a few servants to shoot wild asses, but became separated from them when he dismounted to follow his prey. He was soon overcome by thirst and weakness in the intense heat, and entered a trance-like condition. His extremely concerned servants eventually found him slumped against his gun, unable to speak. According to Abu’l Fazl, the emperor later felt he had been sent a divine message instructing him to take greater care of himself and to avoid such dangers because of his pre-eminent duty as the guardian of mankind. Akbar’s features have been painted by Keshav, one of a small number of artists accorded the privilege of doing portraits of the emperor and leading figures of the court, while the rest of the composition by an unknown designer has been painted by Mohesh.
[English translation Beveridge, vol. II, pp. 520-4]
The Akbarnama was commissioned by Akbar in 1589 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. It was illustrated simultaneously by artists from Akbar's ketabkhana, or "House of Books", where manuscripts were stored as well as created. After Akbar's death in 1605, the manuscript remained in the library of his son, Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) and later Shah Jahan (r.1628-1658). The Victoria and Albert 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.
[English translation Beveridge, vol. II, pp. 520-4]
The Akbarnama was commissioned by Akbar in 1589 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. It was illustrated simultaneously by artists from Akbar's ketabkhana, or "House of Books", where manuscripts were stored as well as created. After Akbar's death in 1605, the manuscript remained in the library of his son, Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) and later Shah Jahan (r.1628-1658). The Victoria and Albert 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.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Akbar (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper |
| Brief description | Painting, Akbarnama, Akbar lost in the desert while hunting wild asses, outline and painting by Mohesh, portraits by Kesav, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95 |
| Physical description | Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Akbar hunting wild asses in the desert. Akbar is shown seated and withdrawn in a clearing. On the right, corpses of wild asses lie on the ground near a tree. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | Akbar hunting wild asses in the desert. Akbar is shown seated and withdrawn in a clearing. On the right, corpses of wild asses lie on the ground near a tree. |
| Styles | |
| Marks and inscriptions | (These are contemporary attributions in Persian, written in red ink in the margin below the picture.)
|
| Credit line | Purchased from Mrs. Clarke, The Dingle, Sydenham Hill, S. E |
| Object history | The Akbarnama, or "Book of Akbar", was commissioned by the emperor Akbar as the official chronicle of his reign. It was written by 1590 and 1596 and is thought to have been illustrated between ca. 1592 and 1594 by at least forty-nine 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 Shah Jahan (r.1628-1658). The Victoria and Albert Museum purchased it in 1896 from Mrs. Frances Clarke, the widow of Major General John Clarke, an official who had been the Commissioner in Oudh province 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, the third volume of the Akbarnama. The inscriptions in red ink on the bottom of the paintings refer to the artists and indicate that this was a royal copy. Purchased from Mrs. Clarke, The Dingle, Sydenham Hill, S. E. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project. Registered Papers: 85488/95 |
| Production | Composition by Mahesh, portraits by Kesav. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Association | |
| Literary reference | Akbarnama |
| Summary | This illustration to the Akbarnama, the history of the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar, exemplifies Akbar's increasingly spiritual preoccupations from about 1570. His historian, Abu’l Fazl, frequently refers to the disparity between the apparent frivolity of events in the material world, and the metaphysical nature of the emperor’s reflections at the same time. On this occasion he writes of Akbar: ‘in appearance his mind was taken up with the pleasure of hunting; inwardly, there was in his heart the longing to know God’. Akbar had set out with a few servants to shoot wild asses, but became separated from them when he dismounted to follow his prey. He was soon overcome by thirst and weakness in the intense heat, and entered a trance-like condition. His extremely concerned servants eventually found him slumped against his gun, unable to speak. According to Abu’l Fazl, the emperor later felt he had been sent a divine message instructing him to take greater care of himself and to avoid such dangers because of his pre-eminent duty as the guardian of mankind. Akbar’s features have been painted by Keshav, one of a small number of artists accorded the privilege of doing portraits of the emperor and leading figures of the court, while the rest of the composition by an unknown designer has been painted by Mohesh. [English translation Beveridge, vol. II, pp. 520-4] The Akbarnama was commissioned by Akbar in 1589 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. It was illustrated simultaneously by artists from Akbar's ketabkhana, or "House of Books", where manuscripts were stored as well as created. After Akbar's death in 1605, the manuscript remained in the library of his son, Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) and later Shah Jahan (r.1628-1658). The Victoria and Albert 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. |
| Bibliographic reference | Susan Stronge, Painting for the Mughal Emperor. The Art of the Book 1560-1650, V&A Publications, 2002, pl. 52, p. 80 and p. 45, pl. 29 |
| Other number | 169 - inscription/original number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.2:84-1896 |
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| Record created | November 10, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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