Akbar
Painting
ca. 1590-95 (made)
ca. 1590-95 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This illustration to the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) depicts the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605) watching a fight between elephants near Malwa in north central India in 1564. It is by the Mughal court artists Mohesh and Kesav Khord.
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.
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 | |
| Title | Akbar (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper |
| Brief description | Painting, Akbarnama, Akbar watching elephants fight, outline by Mohesh, painting by Kesav the Younger, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95 |
| Physical description | Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Akbar watching a fight between elephants near Malwa, in 1564. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | Akbar watching a fight between elephants near Malwa, in 1564. |
| Styles | |
| Marks and inscriptions | (Contemporary librarian's attribution in Persian written beneath the image at the bottom of the page in red ink.)
|
| Gallery label | AN ELEPHANT FIGHT NEAR MALWA IN 1564
Page from an imperial copy of the Akbarnama (“Book of Akbar”)
Opaque water colour and gold on paper
Mughal, composition by Mohesh, painting by Kesav Khord
ca. 1590-95
IS.2:40-1896
The Akbarnama was the official history of the reign commissioned by Akbar in 1589. It was written by the great scholar Abu’l Fazl, the emperor’s friend, and was substantially complete by 1596. While Abu’l Fazl wrote and revised his history, the court artists prepared the illustrations. Contemporary inscriptions beneath the paintings show that most were done by two artists. The senior artist would draw the composition (tarh), and the junior one would do the painting (amal, or “work”).
(2008) |
| 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 | Outline composed by Mohesh, colours and details by Kesav Khord. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Association | |
| Literary reference | Akbarnama |
| Summary | This illustration to the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) depicts the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605) watching a fight between elephants near Malwa in north central India in 1564. It is by the Mughal court artists Mohesh and Kesav Khord. 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 | STRONGE, Susan. Painting for the Mughal Emperor: The Art of the Book 1560 – 1660 London : V&A Publications, 2002. 192p, ill. ISBN 1 85177 358 4.
p.17, pl. 4.
Asok Kumar Das, ‘The Elephant in Mughal Painting’ in Som Prakash Verma, ed., Flora and Fauna in Mughal Art, Marg Publications, Bombay, 1999, fig. 3 p. 39. |
| Other number | 119 - inscription/original number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.2:40-1896 |
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| Record created | November 17, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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