Painting, Akbarnama, Akbar leads a small force to surprise the rebels Ali Khan and Bahadur Khan, by Nand Gwaliari, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95

Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Akbar's retinue preparing to cross the Ganges in pursuit of the rebels Ali Quli Khan and Bahadur Khan in 1567. The image serves as a border around three sides of a large panel of text.

Akbar's retinue preparing to cross the Ganges in pursuit of the rebels Ali Quli Khan and Bahadur Khan in 1567.

Purchased from Mrs. Clarke, The Dingle, Sydenham Hill, S. E

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

Composed and painted by Nand Gwaliari.

This painting by the Mughal court artist Nand Gwaliari from the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) depicts the retinue of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605) preparing to cross the River Ganges in north-east India in pursuit of the rebels Khan Zaman and Bahadur Khan. Unusually, text takes up most of the page.

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.

IS.2:59-1896