{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O9606"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O9606/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009BX3695/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009BX3695/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2009BX3695","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AU3283","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/O9606/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O9606","accessionNumber":"IS.2:77-1896","objectType":"Painting","titles":[{"title":"Akbar","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":" This painting from the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) depicts an incident from the life of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605). Akbar had vowed that if he should be blessed with a son, he would walk to the shrine of the founder of the Chishti order, Shaikh Mu'in ad-Din Chishti, at Ajmer to offer his prayers. He left Agra in January 1570, and swiftly covered the 370 or so kilometers. He is depicted here accompanied by servants carrying emblems of royalty. Abu’l Fazl, in the A’in-i Akbari, the third volume of his history of the reign entitled the Akbarnama, notes that whenever the emperor went out in a formal context, five standards would be carried next to him, as well as the qur, a collection of flags and other insignia. These were all wrapped in red cloth, the colour of royalty. The aftabgir, a shade held over the emperor’s head and seen here, was also on Abu’l Fazl’s list of royal emblems. While in Ajmer, Akbar distributed alms at the shrine, visited other local sacred places, and ordered the construction of new mosques. When a second son, Murad, was born at Sikri some months later to another wife, Akbar returned to Ajmer and had the fort enlarged, new mansions built and gardens laid out for the elite of the court. From then until 1579 he made annual pilgrimages to the city. The composition (tarh) of the painting was designed by Basawan, and the \"work\" ('amal), or painting, was done by Nand Gwaliari.  [Akbarnama, English translation: Beveridge, vol. II, pp. 510-11] \r\n\r\nThe <i>Akbarnama</i> was commissioned in 1589 by the emperor Akbar as the official chronicle of his reign. It was written by his court historian and biographer Abu'l Fazl between 1590 and 1596 and is thought to have been illustrated between about 1592 and 1594. At  least 49 different artists from Akbar's Ketabkhana, or \"House of Books\", where manuscripts were stored as well as created,  worked on the illustrations. After Akbar's death in 1605, the incomplete manuscript remained in the library of his son, Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) who recorded his ownership on the flyleaf, 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":"Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Akbar is at the centre of the composition, dressed in white, walking across a landscape during his pilgrimage on foot to Ajmer in thanksgiving for the birth of Prince Salim (later Emperor Jahangir). Servants follow him, bearing emblems of royalty including a sunshade. Panels of Persian text are pasted onto the painting in panels at top and bottom.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Basawan","id":"A1597"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"AAT251917"},"note":"artist, outline"},{"name":{"text":"Nand, Gwaliari","id":"A1650"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"AAT251917"},"note":"artist, colours and details"}],"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":"Paintings","id":"THES48917"},{"text":"Manuscripts","id":"THES48922"},{"text":"Images Online","id":"THES48937"},{"text":"Religion","id":"THES48900"},{"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":["2009BX3695","2006AU3283","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":[{"object":{"text":"IS.2:23-1896","id":"O9409"},"association":""},{"object":{"text":"IS.2:78-1896","id":"O9605"},"association":""},{"object":{"text":"IS.2:80-1896","id":"O9601"},"association":""}],"creditLine":"Purchased from Mrs. Clarke, The Dingle, Sydenham Hill, S. E","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Width","value":"19.1","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"painting","note":""},{"dimension":"Height","value":"33.4","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":"'Composition by Basawan/Work [ie painting] by Nand Gwaliori'","transliteration":"'Tarh Basawan/amal Nand Gwaliori'","type":"Maker's identification","note":"The contemporary attributions are written in Persian in red ink beneath 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 pilgrimage to Ajmer in thanksgiving for the birth of Prince Salim, outline by Basawan, painting by Nand Gwaliari, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Mughal, ca. 1590-95","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"STRONGE, Susan. <u>Painting for the Mughal Emperor: The Art of the Book 1560 – 1660</u> London : V&A Publications, 2002. 192p, ill. ISBN 1 85177 358 4.","id":"AUTH326134"},"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. 14."},{"reference":{"text":"The Indian Portrait: 1560-1860 London: National Portrait Gallery, 2010 Number: 978 1 85514 409 5","id":"AUTH340071"},"details":"p. 25, fig. 1.","free":""}],"production":"Outline painted by Basawan, colours and details by Nand Gwaliari.\r\nAttribution place is likely to be Lahore.","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"Akbar is at the centre of the composition, dressed in white, walking across a landscape during his pilgrimage on foot to Ajmer in thanksgiving for the birth of Prince Salim (later Emperor Jahangir). Servants follow him, bearing emblems of royalty including a sunshade. Panels of Persian text are pasted onto the painting in panels at top and bottom.","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"Akbar","id":"N107"}],"associatedPerson":[{"text":"Fazl, Abu'l","id":"N104"}],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"ruler","id":"AAT25475"},{"text":"pilgrimage","id":"AAT69279"},{"text":"servants","id":"AAT25874"}],"contentConcepts":[{"text":"pilgrimage","id":"x37350"}],"contentLiteraryRefs":["Akbarnama"],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["IS.2:77-1896"],"accessionNumberNum":"2","accessionNumberPrefix":"IS","accessionYear":1896,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"inscription/original number","id":"THES51028"},"number":"164"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-30","recordCreationDate":"1998-11-11","availableToBook":true}}