Akbar Receiving the Drums and Standards Captured from Abdullah Khan Uzbeg, Governor of Malwa, in 1564 thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Akbar Receiving the Drums and Standards Captured from Abdullah Khan Uzbeg, Governor of Malwa, in 1564

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

This illustration to the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) depicts the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605) receiving the drums and standards captured from Abdullah Khan Uzbek, the Mughal governor of Malwa in north central India, who had rebelled against Akbar. The emperor is shown seated on an elephant, facing the envoys. The painting is by the Mughal court artists Mohesh, who drew the composition, and Anant, who painted the picture over Mohesh's outline.

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
TitleAkbar Receiving the Drums and Standards Captured from Abdullah Khan Uzbeg, Governor of Malwa, in 1564 (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Brief description
Painting, Akbarnama, Akbar receiving drums and standards captured from Abdullah Khan Uzbeg, outline by Mohesh, painting by Anant, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Akbar receiving the drums and standards captured from Abdullah Uzbeg, governor of Malwa. Akbar is shown seated on an elephant, facing the envoys. The image is overlaid by two bands of text extending from the upper and lower left hand margins.
Dimensions
  • Height: 33.5cm
  • Width: 21.1cm
Content description
Akbar receiving the drums and standards captured from Abdullah Uzbeg, governor of Malwa. Akbar is shown seated on an elephant, facing the envoys.
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 Mohesh/work [=painting] by Anant'
Transliteration
'Tarh Mohesh/Amal Anant'
Credit line
Purchased from Mrs. Clarke, The Dingle, Sydenham Hill, S. E
Object history
The Akbarnama was commissioned by the emperor Akbar as the official chronicle of his reign. It was written by his court historian and biographer Abu'l Fazl between 1590 and 1596 and is thought to have been illustrated between c. 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 Museum purchased it in 1896 from the widow of Major General 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 inscriptions in red ink on the bottom of the paintings name the artists.
Production
Outline composed by Mohesh, colours and details painted by Anant.
Subjects depicted
Association
Literary referenceAkbarnama
Summary
This illustration to the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) depicts the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605) receiving the drums and standards captured from Abdullah Khan Uzbek, the Mughal governor of Malwa in north central India, who had rebelled against Akbar. The emperor is shown seated on an elephant, facing the envoys. The painting is by the Mughal court artists Mohesh, who drew the composition, and Anant, who painted the picture over Mohesh's outline.

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.
Other number
121 - inscription/original number
Collection
Accession number
IS.2:41-1896

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Record createdNovember 17, 1998
Record URL
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