拍品专文
Akbar (r.1556-1605) is known to have commissioned at least three copies of the Akbarnameh, the history of his reign written by his prime minister and friend, Abu'l-Fazl. One copy, dated circa 1590, in larger format, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Another, from which this and the following lot come, copied by the famous calligrapher, Maulana Muhammad Husain Kashmiri, known as Zarrin Qalam, is divided between the British Library (OR.12988) and the Chester Beatty Library, the former having volume I (which deals with the history of the Mughals up to Akbar and Akbar's childhood) and the latter having volumes II and part of III (which are concerned with Akbar's reign itself). This Akbarnameh dates from either the last years of the 16th century or the first years of the 17th century depending on the precise reading of an inscription. (For a discussion of the issue see Gahlin, S.: ibid, p.22.)
The paintings in the manuscript are by many artists who came to maturity under Jahangir and Shah Jahan and thus reflect the transitional phase at the end of Akbar's reign, it being certain that illustrations continued to be completed after his death. The raw action of earlier manuscripts has given way to a more rhythmic composition and the range of colours and tones available to the artists has widened. However atmosphere and the feeling of movement are still the predominant concerns and the highly detailed refinement of Jahangiri painting has not yet fully developed.
Although the present illustration is not signed it is in the style of Dharm Das, an artist at Akbar's court. Another example attributed to him from the same manuscript is in the Cleveland Museum of Art (Leach, L.Y.: ibid, fig.18i). Dharm Das is known to have been in Akbar's atelier from circa 1585 and is noticeable for his use of colour, mannered shading and harmonious arrangement of movement.
The scene has not been identified, but it is almost certain that the woman in the centre is the diagnostic character and it may be the flight of Hamida Banu, Humayun's wife.
The painting and that of the following lot, are laid onto a leaf of the Persian lexicon of Jamal al-Din Husain Inju, the Farhang-i Jahangiri, dated 1608, with its contemporary borders and painted margins. This combination can be traced to the Paris collector and dealer, Georges-Joseph Demotte who published eleven miniatures in these borders in his 1930 catalogue (Leach, L.Y.: ibid, p.66).
For a list of other dispersed pages from the manuscript see: Beach, M.C.: ibid, p.41
The paintings in the manuscript are by many artists who came to maturity under Jahangir and Shah Jahan and thus reflect the transitional phase at the end of Akbar's reign, it being certain that illustrations continued to be completed after his death. The raw action of earlier manuscripts has given way to a more rhythmic composition and the range of colours and tones available to the artists has widened. However atmosphere and the feeling of movement are still the predominant concerns and the highly detailed refinement of Jahangiri painting has not yet fully developed.
Although the present illustration is not signed it is in the style of Dharm Das, an artist at Akbar's court. Another example attributed to him from the same manuscript is in the Cleveland Museum of Art (Leach, L.Y.: ibid, fig.18i). Dharm Das is known to have been in Akbar's atelier from circa 1585 and is noticeable for his use of colour, mannered shading and harmonious arrangement of movement.
The scene has not been identified, but it is almost certain that the woman in the centre is the diagnostic character and it may be the flight of Hamida Banu, Humayun's wife.
The painting and that of the following lot, are laid onto a leaf of the Persian lexicon of Jamal al-Din Husain Inju, the Farhang-i Jahangiri, dated 1608, with its contemporary borders and painted margins. This combination can be traced to the Paris collector and dealer, Georges-Joseph Demotte who published eleven miniatures in these borders in his 1930 catalogue (Leach, L.Y.: ibid, p.66).
For a list of other dispersed pages from the manuscript see: Beach, M.C.: ibid, p.41