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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
South Asia Gallery, Room 41

Akbar

Painting
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) on horseback, inspecting a wild elephant captured from a herd during a royal hunting expedition near Malwa in north central India. The elephant is shown tethered to a tree to start the process of taming it, and two trained elephants can be seen in the foreground being led away. The manuscript describes in detail the process of taming a wild elephant for the royal stables.

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 (r.1605–1627), from whom it was inherited by Shah Jahan (r.1628–1658).

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
TitleAkbar (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Brief description
Painting, Akbarnama, Akbar inspecting wild elephant, outline by La'l, painting by Sanwalah, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, depicting Akbar inspecting a wild elephant captured from a herd near Malwa in 1564. The elephant is shown tethered to a tree. Two trained elephants in the foreground are being led away.
Dimensions
  • Height: 32.4cm
  • Average width: 20.2cm
Content description
Akbar inspecting a wild elephant captured from a herd near Malwa in 1564. The elephant is shown tethered to a tree. Two trained elephants in the foreground are being led away.
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
'Tarh La'l/Amal Sanwala' (Contemporary attributions are in red ink in Persian beneath the picture)
Translation
'composition by La'l/work of [=painted by] Sanwala'
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 about 1592 and 1594 by at least 49 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 Mrs Frances Clarke, the widow of Major-General John Clarke, who bought it in India while serving as Commissioner of Oudh 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.
Production
Outline composed by La'l, colours and details painted by Sanwala.
Subjects depicted
Association
Literary referenceAkbarnama
Summary
This illustration to the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) depicts the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605) on horseback, inspecting a wild elephant captured from a herd during a royal hunting expedition near Malwa in north central India. The elephant is shown tethered to a tree to start the process of taming it, and two trained elephants can be seen in the foreground being led away. The manuscript describes in detail the process of taming a wild elephant for the royal stables.

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 (r.1605–1627), from whom it was inherited by Shah Jahan (r.1628–1658).

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
Sen, Geeti. Paintings from the Akbar Nama. Lustre Press, 1984, page 84. Asok Kumar Das, ‘The Elephant in Mughal Painting’ in Som Prakash Verma, ed., Flora and Fauna in Mughal Art, Marg Publications, Bombay, 1999, fig. 4, p. 40.
Other number
120 - inscription/original number
Collection
Accession number
IS.2:39-1896

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Record createdNovember 17, 1998
Record URL
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