BasawanIndien
Akbar
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Victoria and Albert Museum
London, Storbritannien
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- Kontrolleret
- for 7 dage siden
- Uændret siden
- 25. sep. 2026
- Kilde
- Museets egne samlingsdata
About the painting
This illustration from the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) is the right side of a double-page composition designed by Basawan, one of the greatest artists at the Mughal court, with details painted by Tara the Elder. The left side is Museum no. IS.2:62-1896. Together they depict a battle between sannyasis (Hindu devotees) at Thanesar in north-west India, watched by the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605) on horseback, accompanied by his entourage.
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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.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Oplysninger
- Inventarnummer
- IS.2:61-1896
What it shows
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Kilder
- Victoria and Albert Museum: the museum's own open data · hentet for 7 dage siden
- Billede: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
