Mu'nim Khan and Khwaja Jahan thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Mu'nim Khan and Khwaja Jahan

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

This illustration to the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) depicts Mu’nim Khan, chief minister (‘khan-i khanan’) to the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605), pleading with the emperor on behalf of rebels in 1565. Its composition was designed by Basawan, one of the greatest artists at the Mughal court, and then painted by Mah Muhammad.

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
TitleMu'nim Khan and Khwaja Jahan (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Brief description
Painting, Akbarnama, Mu'nim Khan and Khwaja Jahan interceding with Akbar, outline by Basawan, painting by Mah Muhammad, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mu'nim Khan and Khwaja Khan interceding with Akbar in 1565.
Dimensions
  • Height: 31.8cm
  • Average width: 19.9cm
Content description
Mu'nim Khan and Khwaja Khan interceding with Akbar in 1565.
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
'Tarh Basawan/amal Mah Muhammad' (Contemporary librarian's attribution in Persian written beneath the image at the bottom of the page in red ink.)
Translation
'composition by Basawan/work [= painting] by Mah Muhammad'
Credit line
Purchased from Mrs. Clarke, The Dingle, Sydenham Hill, S. E
Object history
The Akbarnama was commissioned by the emperor Akbar as the official chronicle of his reign. It was written by his court historian and biographer Abu'l Fazl between 1590 and 1596 and is thought to have been illustrated between c. 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 Museum purchased it in 1896 from the widow of Major General Clarke,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 inscriptions in red ink on the bottom of the paintings name the artists.
Subject depicted
Association
Literary referenceAkbarnama
Summary
This illustration to the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) depicts Mu’nim Khan, chief minister (‘khan-i khanan’) to the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605), pleading with the emperor on behalf of rebels in 1565. Its composition was designed by Basawan, one of the greatest artists at the Mughal court, and then painted by Mah Muhammad.

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.
Bibliographic reference
W. Staude, ‘Contribution a l’etude de Basawan’, Extrait de la Revue des Arts asiatiques, Paris: Les editions d’art et d’histoire, 1934, fig. 11.
Other number
132 - inscription/original number
Collection
Accession number
IS.2:50-1896

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Record createdNovember 16, 1998
Record URL
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