Rai Surjan Hada making Submission to Akbar thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Rai Surjan Hada making Submission to Akbar

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

This illustration to the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) was designed by the Mughal court artist Mukund and painted by Shankar. It depicts Rai Surjan Hada, the ruler of Ranthambhor in north-west India, submitting to the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605) in 1569, after a fiercely fought campaign of immense strategic importance to the expanding Mughal empire. Akbar is shown seated on a throne under a canopy, with the raja bowing in submission before him.

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
TitleRai Surjan Hada making Submission to Akbar (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Brief description
Painting, Akbarnama, Rai Surjan Hada making submission to Akbar, outline by Mukund, painting by Shankar, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Rai Surjan Hada, the ruler of Ranthambhor, submitting to Akbar. Akbar is shown seated on a throne under a canopy. The Raja is shown bowing in submission before the emperor.
Dimensions
  • Average height: 34cm
  • Average width: 21cm
Content description
Rai Surjan Hada, the ruler of Ranthambhor, submitting to Akbar. Akbar is shown seated on a throne under a canopy. The Raja is shown bowing in submission before the emperor.
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
(Contemporary librarian's attribution in Persian written beneath the image at the bottom of the page in red ink.)
Translation
'composition by Mukund/work [=painting] by Shankar'
Transliteration
'Tarh Mukund/Amal Shankar'
Gallery label
RAI SURJAN HARA SUBMITTING TO AKBAR Illustration to the Akbarnama Opaque watercolour and gold on paper Mughal, composition by Mukund, painted by Shankar c. 1590-95 IS.2:75-1896 After the Mughal victory, Raja Surjan Hara prostrated himself before the emperor. He handed over the keys of his fort, as well as the treasury and stores. Behind Akbar, servants hold weapons wrapped in precious textiles and a flywhisk. These and the red colour of the canopy above the emperor’s head are all emblems of royalty. (27/9/2013)
Credit line
Purchased from Mrs. Clarke, The Dingle, Sydenham Hill, S. E
Object history
The Akbarnama was commissioned by Akbar as an official chronicle of his reign. It was written by his court historian and biographer Abu'l Fazl around 1590, and illustrated during the same decade by at least forty-nine different artists from Akbar's studio. After Akbar's death, the manuscript remained in the library of his son, Jehangir. The Victoria and Albert Museum purchased it in 1896 from the widow of major General Clarke, an official who served as the Commissioner in Oudh province.

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.
Subjects depicted
Association
Literary referenceAkbarnama
Summary
This illustration to the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) was designed by the Mughal court artist Mukund and painted by Shankar. It depicts Rai Surjan Hada, the ruler of Ranthambhor in north-west India, submitting to the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605) in 1569, after a fiercely fought campaign of immense strategic importance to the expanding Mughal empire. Akbar is shown seated on a throne under a canopy, with the raja bowing in submission before him.

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
Geeti Sen, Paintings from the Akbar Nama, Lustre Press Pvt Ltd, page 126
Other number
160 - inscription/original number
Collection
Accession number
IS.2:75-1896

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Record createdNovember 11, 1998
Record URL
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