Adham Khan
Painting
ca. 1590-95 (made)
ca. 1590-95 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This illustration by the Mughal court artists Miskin and Shankar depicts Adham Khan, foster brother of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605), being thrown from the palace walls at Agra, north-west India in 1562. This was his punishment for having burst into the private apartments of the palace with his companions, one of whom had stabbed the emperor’s prime minister to death. The different episodes of the incident are shown concurrently. Akbar emerges from his sleeping quarters, sword in hand, having been awoken by the commotion. The murdered prime minister is at lower left of the composition. Akbar orders the immediate death of Adham Khan, who is thrown from the terrace.
The painting is from the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar), commissioned by Akbar as the official chronicle of his reign. The Akbarnama 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 generally seen as tthe earliest illustrated version of the text, illustrated by the leading court artists of the time. Many of these are listed by Abu’l Fazl in the third volume of the Akbarnamat, the A’in-i Akbari, and some of these names appear in the V&A illustrations, written in red ink beneath the pictures, demonstrating 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 painting is from the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar), commissioned by Akbar as the official chronicle of his reign. The Akbarnama 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 generally seen as tthe earliest illustrated version of the text, illustrated by the leading court artists of the time. Many of these are listed by Abu’l Fazl in the third volume of the Akbarnamat, the A’in-i Akbari, and some of these names appear in the V&A illustrations, written in red ink beneath the pictures, demonstrating 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 | Adham Khan (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper |
Brief description | Painting, Akbarnama, Adham Khan thrown from Agra palace walls, outline and portraits by Miskin, painting Sankar, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95 |
Physical description | Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, the illustration depicts Akbar's foster brother Adham Khan being thrown from the palace walls at Agra as punishment for having stabbed the Ataga Khan. The composition of the painting is arranged on two levels. The upper level shows the emperor standing on a terrace, instructing his attendants to throw Adham Khan over the parapet. The lower part of the painting shows him tumbling down, and the corpse of Ataga Khan in the foreground. The image is overlaid by two bands of text extending from the right hand margin. |
Dimensions |
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Content description | Akbar's foster brother Adham Khan being thrown from the palace walls at Agra as punishment for having stabbed the Ataga Khan. The composition of the painting is arranged on two levels. The upper level shows the emperor standing on a terrace, instructing his attendants to throw Adham Khan over the parapet. The lower part of the painting shows him tumbling down, and the corpse of Ataga Khan in the foreground. |
Styles | |
Marks and inscriptions | 'Tarh Miskin/amal Shankar/nami chehra Miskin' (Contemporary librarian's attributions in Persian, in red ink in the margin below the painting.)
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Gallery label | AKBAR ORDERING THE EXECUTION OF ADHAM KHAN
From an imperial copy of the Akbarnama (“Book of Akbar”)
Opaque water colour and gold on paper
Mughal, composition by Mahesh, painting by Kesav
ca.1590-95
IS.2:29-1896
Adham Khan was a leading general in Akbar’s service, and the son of Akbar’s foster mother who led an influential court faction. Adham Khan became increasingly rebellious, and in 1562 burst into an evening gathering at the palace in Agra. One of his companions murdered a senior noble, whose body is shown at bottom left. He then rushed towards the women’s quarters where Akbar was sleeping. The emperor came out, sword in hand, and ordered Adham Khan to be thrown to his death from the terrace.
(2008) |
Credit line | Purchased from Mrs. Clarke, The Dingle, Sydenham Hill, S. E |
Object history | The Akbarnama was commissioned by the emperor Akbar as an official chronicle of his reign. It was written by 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, Jahangir. The Museum purchased it in 1896 from the widow of major General John 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. |
Production | Composition by Miskin; painted by Shankar, faces by Miskin. |
Subjects depicted | |
Association | |
Literary reference | Akbarnama |
Summary | This illustration by the Mughal court artists Miskin and Shankar depicts Adham Khan, foster brother of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605), being thrown from the palace walls at Agra, north-west India in 1562. This was his punishment for having burst into the private apartments of the palace with his companions, one of whom had stabbed the emperor’s prime minister to death. The different episodes of the incident are shown concurrently. Akbar emerges from his sleeping quarters, sword in hand, having been awoken by the commotion. The murdered prime minister is at lower left of the composition. Akbar orders the immediate death of Adham Khan, who is thrown from the terrace. The painting is from the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar), commissioned by Akbar as the official chronicle of his reign. The Akbarnama 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 generally seen as tthe earliest illustrated version of the text, illustrated by the leading court artists of the time. Many of these are listed by Abu’l Fazl in the third volume of the Akbarnamat, the A’in-i Akbari, and some of these names appear in the V&A illustrations, written in red ink beneath the pictures, demonstrating 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 | Susan Stronge, Painting for the Mughal emperor. The Art of the Book 1560-1650, V&A Publications, London 2002, pl. 46, p. 69. |
Other number | 109 - inscription/original number |
Collection | |
Accession number | IS.2:29-1896 |
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Record created | November 18, 1998 |
Record URL |
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