{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O9467"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O9467/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009BX3726/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009BX3726/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2009BX3726","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KB3661","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O9467/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O9467","accessionNumber":"IS.2:103-1896","objectType":"Painting","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"This painting by the Mughal court artist Tulsi the Elder depicts the battle preceding the capture of Bundi fort in Rajasthan  by the Mughal army in 1577. It is an illustration to the <i>Akbarnama</i> (<i>Book of Akbar</i>), commissioned in 1589 by the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605) as the official chronicle of his reign. \r\n\r\nThe <i>Akbarnama</i> was written in Persian by Akbar’s 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, the battle preceding the capture of Bundi fort, Rajasthan, in 1577. A battle scene is illustrated, in the background a walled city can be seen.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Tulsi Kalan","id":"A6102"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"AAT251917"},"note":"artist, Tulsi the Elder"}],"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":"Images Online","id":"THES48937"},{"text":"Paintings","id":"THES48917"},{"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":["2009BX3726","2017KB3661"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"001","id":"THES403451"},"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","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"approx.","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"20","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"approx.","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"folio size 38.1cm x 22.4cm.","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":"'Composition and painting by Tulsi Kalan'","transliteration":"'Tarh amal: Tulsi Kalan'","type":"Maker's identification","note":"The name of the artist is inscribed in Persian in red ink beneath the picture"}],"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>, battle preceding the capture of the fort at Bund, composition and painting by Tulsi Kalan [the Elder], opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95","bibliographicReferences":[{"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.80, cat. no. 62","free":""}],"production":"Outline picture and painting by Tulsi Kalan.","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"The battle preceding the capture of Bundi fort, Rajasthan, in 1577. A battle scene is illustrated, in the background a walled city can be seen.","contentPlaces":[{"text":"Bundi","id":"x35131"}],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[{"text":"Fazl, Abu'l","id":"N104"}],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"weapons","id":"AAT36926"},{"text":"Armour","id":"AAT226591"},{"text":"horse","id":"x30117"},{"text":"Warriors","id":"x31511"},{"text":"Costume","id":"AAT209261"},{"text":"camel","id":"x30284"},{"text":"trees","id":"AAT132410"},{"text":"rock","id":"AAT11692"},{"text":"forts","id":"AAT6909"}],"contentConcepts":[{"text":"war","id":"x35624"}],"contentLiteraryRefs":["Akbarnama"],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["IS.2:103-1896"],"accessionNumberNum":"2","accessionNumberPrefix":"IS","accessionYear":1896,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"inscription/original number","id":"THES51028"},"number":"196"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-04-09","recordCreationDate":"1998-11-02","availableToBook":false}}