{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O9594"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O9594/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009BX3708/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009BX3708/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2009BX3708","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2016JJ4162","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KB8462","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O9594/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O9594","accessionNumber":"IS.2:84-1896","objectType":"Painting","titles":[{"title":"Akbar","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":"This illustration to the Akbarnama, the history of the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar, exemplifies Akbar's increasingly spiritual preoccupations from about 1570. His historian, Abu’l Fazl, frequently refers to the disparity between the apparent frivolity of events in the material world, and the metaphysical nature of the emperor’s reflections at the same time. On this occasion he writes of Akbar: ‘in appearance his mind was taken up with the pleasure of hunting; inwardly, there was in his heart the longing to know God’. Akbar had set out with a few servants to shoot wild asses, but became separated from them when he dismounted to follow his prey. He was soon overcome by thirst and weakness in the intense heat, and entered a trance-like condition. His extremely concerned servants eventually found him slumped against his gun, unable to speak. According to Abu’l Fazl, the emperor later felt he had been sent a divine message instructing him to take greater care of himself and to avoid such dangers because of his pre-eminent duty as the guardian of mankind. Akbar’s features have been painted by Keshav, one of a small number of artists accorded the privilege of doing portraits of the emperor and leading figures of the court, while the rest of the composition by an unknown designer has been painted by Mohesh. \r\n[English translation Beveridge, vol. II, pp. 520-4] \r\nThe <i>Akbarnama</i> was commissioned by  Akbar in 1589 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. It was illustrated simultaneously by artists from Akbar's ketabkhana, or \"House of Books\", where manuscripts were stored as well as created.  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, 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 hunting wild asses in the desert. Akbar is shown seated and withdrawn in a clearing. On the right, corpses of wild asses lie on the ground near a tree.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Mahesh","id":"A1630"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"AAT251917"},"note":"artist, composition"},{"name":{"text":"Kesav","id":"A6112"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"AAT251917"},"note":"artist, portraits"}],"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":"Manuscripts","id":"THES48922"},{"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":["2009BX3708","2016JJ4162","2017KB8462"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES403517"},"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":"33.4","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"painting","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"20.1","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"painting","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":"'Work [ie painting] by Mahesh/faces by Kesav'","transliteration":"'amal Mahesh/chehra nami Kesav'","type":"Maker's identification","note":"These are contemporary attributions in Persian, written in red ink in the margin below 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>, Akbar lost in the desert while hunting wild asses, outline and painting by Mohesh, portraits by Kesav, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Susan Stronge, Painting for the Mughal Emperor. The Art of the Book 1560-1650, V&A Publications, 2002, pl. 52, p. 80 and p. 45, pl. 29"}],"production":"Composition by Mahesh, portraits by Kesav.\r\n","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"Akbar hunting wild asses in the desert. Akbar is shown seated and withdrawn in a clearing. On the right, corpses of wild asses lie on the ground near a tree.","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"Akbar","id":"N107"}],"associatedPerson":[{"text":"Fazl, Abu'l","id":"N104"}],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"ass (animal)","id":"x30281"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":["Akbarnama"],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["IS.2:84-1896"],"accessionNumberNum":"2","accessionNumberPrefix":"IS","accessionYear":1896,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"inscription/original number","id":"THES51028"},"number":"169"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-12","recordCreationDate":"1998-11-10","availableToBook":true}}