Akbar Giving Thanks on Hearing of the Victory in Bengal

This 16th-century painting by a Mughal master artist is an exquisite miniature belonging to an Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) historical manuscript illustrating the life and reign of the emperor Akbar. The scene represents a significant event in the late 16th century – in the course of the Mughal Empire’s campaign in the eastern part of the country. A large figure of an emperor in the yellow dress prays to the river bank on one knee in a symbolic gesture of his thanks (shukrana) for victory. His forces have defeated Bengal’s Afghan ruler and his troops in October 1576 – the end of Bengal’s independence and its annexation to the Mughal empire. The image is set out in a distinctive format using a meandering current as the storyline in which the artist has placed an imperial fleet at the center of the painting. The Mughal ships are decorated with golden canopies, bright red sails, and guardian structures carrying baggage and royal escort can be seen on their decks. At both sides of the river, a fortress towers above the crowds of people, animals, and musicians gathered on the bank. The image also includes a division of labor that was typical for the Mughal painting as a highly sophisticated and demanding art form. While La’ll, the master painter, designed the general layout (tarh) of the work, Nand Gwaliyari was responsible for the image’s meticulous coloring and intricate detailing. The leaf was painted in approx. 1590-1595 and is part of a larger historical manuscript called Akbarnama . The original 16th-century painting is made of opaque watercolor and ink on paper. Surprisingly, the artists used different types of minerals to achieve complex colors in miniature paintings as well as gold leaf, and applied delicate lines to depict the foliage.