{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O9411"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O9411/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009BX3725/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009BX3725/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2009BX3725","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AP7645","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KB3706","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O9411/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O9411","accessionNumber":"IS.2:117-1896","objectType":"Painting","titles":[{"title":"Akbar","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":"This illustration to the <i>Akbarnama</i> (<i>Book of Akbar</i>) depicts the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605) riding on a black horse through Surat in western India after taking the city in 1573. The painting is the work of Farrokh Beg, named in the contemporary inscription in the lower border. This Iranian artist entered Akbar's service in 1585 when he arrived at court from Kabul. He was solely responsible for both the composition and the painted details of this illustration, unlike the other paintings in the V&A Akbarnama which are the work of two, or sometimes three artists. The inscriptions on the building behind Akbar, in white on deep blue, testify to Farrokh Beg's skill as a calligrapher. He continued in royal service under Akbar's son and successor, Jahangir, who inscribed several paintings with the comment that they were the work of Farrokh Beg 'in his 70th year'. One of these is in the V&A (IM.10-1925).\r\n\r\nThe <i>Akbarnama</i> 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 <i>A’in-i Akbari</i>, 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.\r\n\r\nThe 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.","physicalDescription":"Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Akbar's triumphant entry into Surat. A procession of figures follow the emperor's cavalcade as he surveys the fort of Surat. A musician, bodyguards and camels follow in his wake. In the foreground, an elephant can be seen, and in the crowd at right is a black-robed Jesuit with blue eyes.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Farrukh (Beg)","id":"A1604"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"AAT251917"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"paper","id":"AAT14109"},{"text":"opaque watercolour","id":"x35013"},{"text":"paint","id":"AAT15029"}],"techniques":[{"text":"painted","id":"AAT54216"},{"text":"drawing","id":"x32498"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper","categories":[{"text":"ELISE","id":"THES48961"},{"text":"Paintings","id":"THES48917"},{"text":"Images Online","id":"THES48937"},{"text":"Animals and Wildlife","id":"THES250852"},{"text":"Illustration","id":"THES48938"},{"text":"Bonita Trust Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project","id":"THES263148"}],"styles":[{"text":"Mughal","id":"AAT18939"},{"text":"Akbar","id":""}],"collectionCode":{"text":"SSEA","id":"THES48598"},"images":["2009BX3725","2006AP7645","2017KB3706"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"007","id":"THES403711"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"painting","id":"AAT33618"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Mughal Empire","id":"THES262021"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1590-95","earliest":"1585-01-01","latest":"1595-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Purchased from Mrs. Clarke, The Dingle, Sydenham Hill, S. E","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"31.9","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"painted surface","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"19.1","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"painted surface","note":""},{"dimension":"Height","value":"33","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"painted surface and borders","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"20.2","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"painted surface and borders","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"Persian","medium":"ink","method":"","position":"","script":"Persian","translation":"[artist's name]","transliteration":"'Farrukh Beg'","type":"Maker's identification","note":"The contemporary attribution to Farrokh Beg is in the margin below the painting."}],"objectHistory":"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.\r\n\r\nHistorical 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.\r\n\r\nPurchased 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.\r\n\r\nRegistered Papers: 85488/95","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Painting, <i>Akbarnama</i>, Akbar's triumphant entry into Surat, Farrukh Beg, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Asok Kumar Das, 'Persian Masterworks and their Transformation in Jahangir's Taswirkhana', in Sheila Canby, ed., Humayun's Garden Party. Princes of the House of Timur and Early Mughal Painting, Marg Publications, Bombay 1994, figure 4, p. 141 and p. 143.\r\nSusan Stronge, Painting for the Mughal Emperor. The Art of the Book 1560-1650, V&A Publications, 2002, pl. 37, p. 56.\r\nJorge Flores and Nuno Vassallo e Silva eds, Goa and the Great Mughal, Lisbon,2004, cat. 11 p. 217, illustrated p. 135.\r\nSusan Stronge, \"The Akbarnama and Mughal Court Culture\", in Gian Carlo Calza, ed., Akbar. The Great Emperor of India, Fondazione Roma, 2012, fig. 7, p. 24\r\nShakeel Hossain and Deeti Ray, Celebrating Abdur Rahim Khan-i-khanan, Interglobe Foundation/Aga Khan Trust for Culture in association with Mapin Publishing, Ahmedabad, 2017, illustrated p. 19"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"T Koezuka Ed. RC.TK.SS. Catalogue. The Art of the Indian Courts. Intro DS.TK.Osaka 1993. No.2"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Guy, J., and Swallow, D., (eds). ‘Arts of India: 1550-1900’. London : Victoria and Albert Museum, 1990. ISBN 1851770224, pp.11 no.1."},{"reference":{"text":"Stronge, S. Made for Mughal Emperors. Royal Treasures from Hindustan. London and New York, 2010","id":"AUTH327057"},"details":"p. 69, pl. 69","free":""},{"reference":{"text":"Swallow, D., Stronge, S., Crill, R., Koezuka, T., editor and translator, \"The Art of the Indian Courts. Miniature Painting and Decorative Arts\", Victoria & Albert Museum and NHK Kinki Media Plan, 1993.","id":"AUTH346698"},"details":"p. 27, cat. no. 2","free":""}],"production":"Composed and painted by Farrukh Beg.","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"Akbar's triumphant entry into Surat. A procession of figures follow the emperor's cavalcade as he surveys the fort of Surat. A musician, bodyguards and camels follow in his wake. In the foreground, an elephant can be seen.","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"Akbar, Jalad ad-Din Muhammad (Emperor)","id":"N107"}],"associatedPerson":[{"text":"Fazl, Abu'l","id":"N104"}],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"elephant","id":"x30316"},{"text":"horse","id":"x30117"},{"text":"ruler","id":"AAT25475"},{"text":"procession","id":"AAT69290"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":["Akbarnama"],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["IS.2:117-1896"],"accessionNumberNum":"2","accessionNumberPrefix":"IS","accessionYear":1896,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"inscription/original number","id":"THES51028"},"number":"183"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-05-19","recordCreationDate":"1998-10-22","availableToBook":false}}