"The White Horse Got Stuck to a Rock in Mount Vindhyachal", Folio from a Razmnama

'Abd al-Rahim ibn Muhammad Bairam Khan Khan-i Khanan

1616–17 · Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper · Islamic Art

The Hindu work of the Mahabharata was translated into Persian and illustrated for ̒Abd al-Rahim, a military commander under the Mughal emperors Akbar and Jahangir. The tale, whose translation was called the Razmnama, chronicles the struggle of dynastic succession between the Kaurava and the Pandava clans. In the story, Arjuna, a member of the Pandava clan and one of the protagonists of the work, travels with a white sacrificial horse. After being lost in the Vindhya mountains, the horse is rediscovered by Arjuna, his four brothers, and Krishna. The awkwardness of the composition, with the horse’s placement in space isolated in the midground, is unusual for works painted by the well-known artist Fazl, who may have been overwhelmed by the enormity of his role in the project. The text panel that overlays much of the page follows the style of the imperial atelier under Akbar (r. 1556–1606).

Artist

'Abd al-Rahim ibn Muhammad Bairam Khan Khan-i Khanan

Date

1616–17

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1955