Painting
1562-1577 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Hamzanama, or 'Book of Hamza' was commissioned by the great Mughal emperor Akbar in the mid-16th century. The epic story of a character based very loosely on the life of the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad chronicles the fantastic adventures of Hamza as he and his band of heroes fight against the enemies of Islam. The stories, from a long-established oral tradition, were written down in Persian, the language of the court, in multiple volumes. These originally had 1400 illustrations, of which fewer than 200 survive today. Work probably began in about 1562 and took 15 years to complete.
This very damaged page depicts a fight between two men, watched by a royal figure on horseback and his companions.
This very damaged page depicts a fight between two men, watched by a royal figure on horseback and his companions.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Painted in gouache on cotton |
| Brief description | Painting, wrestlers watched by noblemen, in gouache on cotton, from the Hamzanama,Mughal, 1562-1577 |
| Physical description | Painting, in gouache on cotton, scene from the Hamzanama, a group of men watch two youths fight beneath a large central tree with a fortified city behind, at top right. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Content description | Scene from the Hamzanama, a group of men watch two youths fight beneath a large central tree with a fortified city behind, at top right. |
| Style | |
| Credit line | P. C. Manuk and Miss G. M. Coles Bequest through Art Fund |
| Historical context | The Hamzanama was the first major project undertaken by the new painting studio of the Mughal court. Directed by two Iranian masters brought to India by Humayun, work began under Akbar and was said to have taken fifteen years to complete, drawing from artists from all over northern Hindustan. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The Hamzanama, or 'Book of Hamza' was commissioned by the great Mughal emperor Akbar in the mid-16th century. The epic story of a character based very loosely on the life of the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad chronicles the fantastic adventures of Hamza as he and his band of heroes fight against the enemies of Islam. The stories, from a long-established oral tradition, were written down in Persian, the language of the court, in multiple volumes. These originally had 1400 illustrations, of which fewer than 200 survive today. Work probably began in about 1562 and took 15 years to complete. This very damaged page depicts a fight between two men, watched by a royal figure on horseback and his companions. |
| Bibliographic reference | John Seyller, The Adventures of Hamza, 2002, cat. R161, pp. 276-7 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.7-1949 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | October 4, 2002 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
