Painting, Akbarnama,on the bank of the Ganges, preceding defeat of Khan Zaman, outline by Kanha, painting by Nanha, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95

Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, left side of a double picture, the right side being IS.2:64-1896. Depicts an episode on the bank of the Ganges preceding the defeat of Khan Zaman.

An episode on the bank of the Ganges preceding the defeat of Khan Zaman.

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

Outline composed by Kanha, painting by Nanha.

This is the left side of a double-page illustration to the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar). The right side is Museum no. IS.2:64-1896. The entire composition was designed by the Mughal artist Kanha, and the details on this side were painted by Nanha. The illustration depicts an unidentified episode in 1567 on the bank of the river Ganges in north-east India, preceding the defeat of the rebel general Khan Zaman by the Mughal army.

The Akbarnama was commissioned by the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605) 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 illustrations to the V&A’s partial copy of the manuscript were painted concurrently by the royal artists. 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.2:57-1896