{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O9412"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O9412/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009BX4156/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009BX4156/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2009BX4156","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BD5664","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KB3631","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O9412/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O9412","accessionNumber":"IS.2:24-1896","objectType":"Painting","titles":[{"title":"Akbar ","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":"This illustration to the Akbarnama by Basawan and Dharmdas depicts Akbar hunting with cheetahs in the neighbourhood of Agra.  The emperor was particularly fond of hunting and frequently participated in this exciting sport. Here, Akbar is the central figure on horseback chasing a cheetah.  Other members of the hunting party are shown also participating in the capture of animals on foot, horseback and riding on elephants.  Several cages are shown, which were used both to entrap animals (goats were placed in the cage to attract tigers) and to transport them.\r\nThe <i>Akbarnama</i> (Book of Akbar) was commissioned by the emperor Akbar as the official chronicle of his reign. It was written in Persian by Abu'l Fazl between 1590 and 1596 and is thought to have been illustrated between about 1592 and 1594 by at least 49 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 that of  Shah Jahan (r.1628-1658). The Museum purchased it in 1896 from Mrs Frances Clarke, the widow of Major-General John Clarke. He bought it in India while serving as Commissioner of Oudh between 1858 and 1862.","physicalDescription":"Painting, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Akbar hunting with cheetahs in the neighbourhood of Agra.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Basawan","id":"A1597"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"AAT251917"},"note":"artist, outline"},{"name":{"text":"Dharmdas","id":"A1596"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"AAT251917"},"note":"artist, painting"}],"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":"Royalty","id":"THES48899"},{"text":"Hunting","id":"THES253059"},{"text":"Bonita Trust Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project","id":"THES263148"}],"styles":[{"text":"Mughal","id":"AAT18939"},{"text":"Akbar","id":""}],"collectionCode":{"text":"SSEA","id":"THES48598"},"images":["2009BX4156","2006BD5664","2017KB3631"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"004","id":"THES403519"},"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":"33.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"painting","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"19.6","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"painting","note":""},{"dimension":"Height","value":"37.6","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"page","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"23","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"page","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":"Lower margin","script":"Persian","translation":"'Composition by Basawan/Work [=painting] by Dharmdas'","transliteration":"'Tarh Basawan/Amal Dharmdas'","type":"Maker's identification","note":"Contemporary librarian's attribution in Persian written beneath the image at the bottom of the page in red ink."}],"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 hunting with cheetahs, outline by Basawan, painting Dharmdas, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95\r\n","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"W. Staude, ‘Contribution a l’etude de Basawan’, Extrait de la Revue des Arts asiatiques, Paris: Les editions d’art et d’histoire, 1934, fig. 7.\r\nH. Beveridge (trs), The Akbar Nama of Abu-l-Fazl, Ess Ess Publications, Delhi 1977, vol. II, p. 226.\r\n"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Swallow, Deborah: Arts of Asia, vol. 45, no. 5, September - October 2015,  25 Years of the Nehru Gallery of Indian Art and the Nehru Trust, p. 91, no. 3."}],"production":"Composition by Basawan; painted by Dharmdas.","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"Akbar hunting with cheetahs in the neighbourhood of Agra.","contentPlaces":[{"text":"Agra","id":"x30318"}],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"Akbar","id":"N107"}],"associatedPerson":[{"text":"Fazl, Abu'l","id":"N104"}],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"cheetah","id":"x30302"}],"contentConcepts":[{"text":"hunting","id":"x40186"}],"contentLiteraryRefs":["Akbarnama"],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"AKBAR HUNTING WITH CHEETAHS\r\nFrom an imperial copy of the Akbarnama (“Book of Akbar”)\r\nOpaque water colour and gold on paper\r\nMughal, composition by Basawan, painting by Dharmdas\r\n ca. 1590-95\r\n\r\nIS.2:24-1896\r\n\r\nAkbar, the central figure on horseback, is depicted hunting near Agra in 1561. The painting illustrates an incident described in the text, when a jackal (seen at upper left) had attacked a faun. According to the historian, “the weak was about to be injured by the strong”, but the jackal was driven away by the faun’s mother. This is interpreted in the Akbarnama as being due to the blessed influence of the emperor’s presence. \r\n\r\n","date":{"text":"2008","earliest":"2008-01-01","latest":"2008-12-31"}}],"partNumbers":["IS.2:24-1896"],"accessionNumberNum":"2","accessionNumberPrefix":"IS","accessionYear":1896,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"Inscription/original number","id":"THES51028"},"number":"99"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-30","recordCreationDate":"1998-10-22","availableToBook":true}}