Bahadur Khan thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Bahadur Khan

Painting
ca. 1590-95 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This painting from the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) is by the Mughal court artists Kesav Kalan and Madhav Kalan. It depicts Bahadur Khan, who had rebelled against the authority of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605), captured and displayed as a prisoner in front of the emperor. Bahadur Khan is shown on foot with his hands bound, facing Akbar, who is depicted on horseback with a parasol held over his head as an emblem of royalty.

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.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleBahadur Khan (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Brief description
Painting, Akbarnama, Bahadur Khan as Akbar's prisoner, outline by Kesav the Elder, painting Madhav the Elder, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, the rebel Bahadur Khan as a prisoner in the presence of Akbar. Bahadur Khan is shown on foot with his hands bound facing Akbar on horseback. The image is overlaid with two bands of text, one of which extends from the upper right hand border , the other at the bottom of the image, extending from the right hand border.
Dimensions
  • Folio height: 38.1cm
  • Folio width: 22.4cm
No exact measurements available, but image cannot exceed folio size of 38.1cm x 22.4cm.
Content description
Bahadur Khan as a prisoner in the presence of Akbar. Bahadur Khan is shown on foot with his hands bound facing Akbar on horseback.
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
'Tarh: Kesav Kalan/Amal: Madhav Kalan' (Contemporary librarian's attribution in Persian written beneath the image at the bottom of the page in red ink.)
Translation
'composition by Kesav the Elder/work [=painting] by Madhav the Elder'
Credit line
Purchased from Mrs. Clarke, The Dingle, Sydenham Hill, S. E
Object history
The Akbarnama was commissioned by the Emperor Akbar as an official chronicle of his reign. It was written by his court historian and biographer Abu'l Fazl around 1590, and illustrated during the same decade by at least forty-nine different artists from Akbar's studio. After Akbar's death, the manuscript remained in the library of his son, Jehangir. The Victoria and Albert Museum purchased it in 1896 from the widow of major General Clarke, an official who served as the Commissioner in Oudh province.

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 inscriptions in red ink on the bottom of the paintings name the artists.
Subjects depicted
Association
Literary referenceAkbarnama
Summary
This painting from the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) is by the Mughal court artists Kesav Kalan and Madhav Kalan. It depicts Bahadur Khan, who had rebelled against the authority of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605), captured and displayed as a prisoner in front of the emperor. Bahadur Khan is shown on foot with his hands bound, facing Akbar, who is depicted on horseback with a parasol held over his head as an emblem of royalty.

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.
Other number
148 - inscription/original number
Collection
Accession number
IS.2:65-1896

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Record createdNovember 12, 1998
Record URL
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