Akbar Receives the Iranian Ambassador Sayyid Beg in 1562 thumbnail 1
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Akbar Receives the Iranian Ambassador Sayyid Beg in 1562

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

This is the left half of a double page illustration designed by the Mughal court artist La’l and painted by Ibrahim Kahar for the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar). It depicts the arrival of the Iranian ambassador, Sayyid Beg, in 1562 at the royal court in Agra of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605). This page shows the entourage of the ambassador bearing the gifts sent by Shah Tahmasp of Iran. The other side of the composition ( IS.2:27-1896) depicts Akbar enthroned, receiving the ambassador.

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.

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read The arts of the Mughal Empire The great age of Mughal art lasted from about 1580 to 1650 and spanned the reigns of three emperors: Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Hindu and Muslim artists and craftsmen from the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent worked with Iranian masters in the masculine environment of the r...

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleAkbar Receives the Iranian Ambassador Sayyid Beg in 1562 (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Brief description
Painting, Akbarnama, Akbar receives Iranian ambassador Sayyid Beg, outline by La'l, painting by Ibrahim Kahar, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, left half of a double picture, the right being IS.2:27-1896: it depicts Akbar receiving Sayyid Beg, the ambassador from Iran.
Dimensions
  • Height: 31.1cm
  • Width: 19.2cm
Content description
The emperor Akbar receiving Sayyid Beg, the ambassador from Persia, at Agra, the imperial capital in 1562.
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
(Contemporary librarian's attributions in Persian, in red ink in the margin below the painting.)
Translation
'composition by La'l/work [= painting] by Ibrahim Kahar'
Transliteration
'Tarh La'l/amal Ibrahim Kahar'
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
Composition by La'l; painted by Ibrahim Kahar.
Subjects depicted
Association
Literary referenceAkbarnama
Summary
This is the left half of a double page illustration designed by the Mughal court artist La’l and painted by Ibrahim Kahar for the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar). It depicts the arrival of the Iranian ambassador, Sayyid Beg, in 1562 at the royal court in Agra of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605). This page shows the entourage of the ambassador bearing the gifts sent by Shah Tahmasp of Iran. The other side of the composition ( IS.2:27-1896) depicts Akbar enthroned, receiving the ambassador.

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.
Associated object
Bibliographic reference
Stronge, Susan. Painting for the Mughal Emperor: The Art of the Book 1560-1660, V&A Publications, 2002, pl. 23 (left), p. 38.
Other number
108 - inscription/original number
Collection
Accession number
IS.2:28-1896

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Record createdNovember 18, 1998
Record URL
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