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Rani Durgavati

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

This painting by the Mughal court artists Kesav and Jagannath from the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) depicts the heroic death in battle of Rani Durgavati, ruler of Garha Katanga in Central India from 1550 to 1564. She was a princess of the Chandel dynasty of Mahoba, and ruled as regent for her son Bir Narayan. She was a capable and benevolent ruler as well as being a courageous leader. Her army consisted of 20,000 cavalry and 1000 elephants, and had repelled other attacks on the kingdom, but her forces were easily defeated by the overwhelming size of the Mughal army. This painting shows her at centre left, struck by arrows. She pulled them out, but then killed herself rather than submit to Akbar. This painting is the right half of a double-page illustration, the left half being Museum no. IS.2:36-1896. The image is overlaid by two panels of text extending from the left-hand margin.

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 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
TitleRani Durgavati (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Brief description
Painting, Akbarnama, heroic death in battle of Rani Durgavati, outline by Kesav, painting by Jagannath, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, right side of a double picture representing the heroic death in battle of Rani Durgavati (ruler of the Gond Kingdom of Middle India), during the battle which resulted in the conquest of Gondwana by Abdul Majid Asaf Khan, the imperial viceroy of Karra in Allahbad. The image is overlaid by two panels of text extending from the left hand margin.
DimensionsFolio size of 38.1cm x 22.4cm.
Content description
The heroic death in battle of Rani Durgavati (ruler of the Gond Kingdom of Middle India), during the battle which resulted in the conquest of Gondwana by Abdul Majid Asaf Khan, the imperial viceroy of Karra in Allahbad.
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
'Tarh Kesav/Amal Jagannath' (Contemporary librarian's attribution in Persian written beneath the image at the bottom of the page in red ink.)
Translation
'composition by Kesav/work of [= painting] by Jagannath'
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 Kesav, colours and details painted by Jagannath.
Subjects depicted
Association
Literary referenceAkbarnama
Summary
This painting by the Mughal court artists Kesav and Jagannath from the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) depicts the heroic death in battle of Rani Durgavati, ruler of Garha Katanga in Central India from 1550 to 1564. She was a princess of the Chandel dynasty of Mahoba, and ruled as regent for her son Bir Narayan. She was a capable and benevolent ruler as well as being a courageous leader. Her army consisted of 20,000 cavalry and 1000 elephants, and had repelled other attacks on the kingdom, but her forces were easily defeated by the overwhelming size of the Mughal army. This painting shows her at centre left, struck by arrows. She pulled them out, but then killed herself rather than submit to Akbar. This painting is the right half of a double-page illustration, the left half being Museum no. IS.2:36-1896. The image is overlaid by two panels of text extending from the left-hand margin.

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 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.
Associated object
Other number
115 - inscription/original number
Collection
Accession number
IS.2:35-1896

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Record createdNovember 18, 1998
Record URL
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