"Asaf khan Presents Offerings (?)", Folio from a Manuscript of the Akbarnama. Folio from the Davis Album

Abu'l Fazl

ca. 1604 · Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper · Islamic Art

This painting from the Akbarnama has been identified as depicting the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605) receiving spoils of war from his leading general Asaf Khan in Jaunpur in 1565. The text specifies that Asaf Khan brought the rarities of the region for the emperor, and presented him with elephants, and fine horses from Iran and Turkey. However, in other versions of the Akbarnama Asaf Khan is shown with distinctive Tajik features and whitening beard, therefore this remains a tentative identification. Written by the courtier Abu'l Fazl between 1589 and 1598, the Akbarnama chronicles the life of the emperor Akbar. This painting is one of eight folios from the so-called "Chester Beatty Akbarnama" in the Davis album.

Artist

Abu'l Fazl

Date

ca. 1604

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915