Akbar

ca. 1590-95 · Painting · 38.1 × 22.4 cm

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Not receiving at present

Victoria and Albert Museum

London, United Kingdom

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked: 7 days ago
In this state since: Sep 25, 2026
Source: The museum's own collection data

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About the painting

This painting from the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) is the left side of a double-page composition by Basawan, one of the greatest artists at the Mughal court. The right side is Museum no. IS.2:61-1896. Together they depict a battle between sannyasis (Hindu holy men) at Thanesar in north-west India. This side of the composition, the details of which were painted by Asi (the brother of another artist, Miskina, as the contemporary inscription beneath the painting specifies) shows a tank in which other sannyasis are bathing, seemingly oblivious to the battle going on around them.

Read on

The Akbarnama was commissioned by the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605) 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