Khwajah Mu'azzam
Painting
ca. 1590-95 (made)
ca. 1590-95 (made)
Place of origin |
This illustration to the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) depicts Khwajah Mu’azzam, the maternal uncle of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605), being punished for murdering his wife. On Akbar’s orders he is being thrown into the seething waters of the River Jamuna with his companions. Khwajah Mu’azzam survived his punishment and was imprisoned in Gwalior in central India, where he died of melancholia and brain disorder. Another painting (I.2:37-1896), thought to be by the same unidentified artist, is on the other side of this folio.
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 | Khwajah Mu'azzam (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper |
Brief description | Painting, Akbarnama, Khwajah Mu'azzam thrown in River Jamuna, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95 |
Physical description | Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Khwajah Muazzam being immersed in the river Jamuna on the orders of Akbar in 1564. The image is overlaid by a panel of Persian text extending from the upper left hand margin. |
Dimensions |
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Content description | Khwajah Muazzam being immersed in the river Jamuna on the orders of Akbar in 1564. |
Styles | |
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 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 | Unsigned, artist not identified. |
Subjects depicted | |
Association | |
Literary reference | Akbarnama |
Summary | This illustration to the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) depicts Khwajah Mu’azzam, the maternal uncle of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605), being punished for murdering his wife. On Akbar’s orders he is being thrown into the seething waters of the River Jamuna with his companions. Khwajah Mu’azzam survived his punishment and was imprisoned in Gwalior in central India, where he died of melancholia and brain disorder. Another painting (I.2:37-1896), thought to be by the same unidentified artist, is on the other side of this folio. 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. |
Other number | 118 - inscription/original number |
Collection | |
Accession number | IS.2:38-1896 |
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Record created | November 17, 1998 |
Record URL |
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