Akbar Presenting a Miniature to his Father Humayun
| Support Type: | Paper |
| Paint Type: | Gouache |
| Current Location: | Golestan Palace Library, Tehran, Iran (Accession number: Gulshan Album / Muraqqa-e Golshan, no. 1663, page 70) |
| Location History: | Following Humayun's military reconquest of Delhi and Akbar's subsequent ascension to the throne in 1556, the painting was brought to the imperial capital in India (moving between Delhi, Agra, and Lahore). During the reign of Akbar's son, Emperor Jahangir (reigned 1605–1627), this specific historical folio was selected for its exceptional merit and mounted into a grand, state-compiled royal album. It became a foundational page within the celebrated Muraqqa-e Golshan (The Gulshan Album), an expansive anthology of master paintings and calligraphy curated directly for Jahangir's private library. The Gulshan Album remained in the possession of the Mughal imperial library in Delhi until the mid-18th century. In 1739, the Persian ruler Nader Shah invaded Delhi, thoroughly sacking the capital and plundering the legendary treasures of the Mughal dynasty. |
Akbar Presenting Miniature to his Father, Humayun, also known as Akbar and Humayun in the Tree House, is a significant Mughal artwork of 16th century made before 1580. The artwork is attributed to a famous Persian Master painter, Khwaja Abd al-Samad and is stored in the Royal Library of Gulistan Palace in Tehran. It was drawn by the distinguished Persian master Abd al-Samad when the Mughal court was in exile in Kabul. It is one of the first examples of the Mughal art as it has its roots in the medieval period. The story around this painting goes back to when Humayun was captivated by advancements in Iranian culture and civilization amidst his exile in Persia and Kabul post his defeat by Sher Shah Suri. He is known to have made arrangements with the Iranian monarch, Shah Tahmasp for inviting back acclaimed painters and artists to his court. Abd al-Samad was one of these painters who worked not only as the painter of the emperors but also as the instructor for the young prince Akbar. In the miniature, the culture of the Mughal court has been represented with so many people engaged in different activities in a beautiful garden full of greenery. It is believed by historians and scholars that by depicting the young Akbar with a self-portrait of his own, the artist wished to signify the power of tradition and heritage from Humayun to Akbar. The inclusion of a work of art within a work of art is an example of breaking the fourth wall. Milo Cleveland Beach in his work 'Early Mughal Painting (1987) and The Imperial Image Paintings for the Mughal Court' provides a detailed visual analysis of the mise-en-abyme (a painting in a painting) principle employed through the different folios of the treehouse. The painting provides a direct and self-referential celebration of art. It is a kind of a nested narrative an artwork within an artwork. The main composition is divided into different architectural components and activities of the personalities involved in the painting. The elevated pavilion structure of the painting, which looks like an impressive tree house or garden house, shows the Emperor Humayun sitting in a formal dress wearing the Táj-i'rizzat headgear. There is a young boy, Akbar, who is handing a mini painting drawn under the supervision of Abd al-Samad to his father. The people around them include attendants and servants climbing up the stairs and walking across the balconies with trays full of food, drinks, and other things prepared for the Emperor. Below them is the courtyard located at the bottom level, which is filled with musicians, poets, writers, and other people on a finely designed carpet. On the visual level, the piece has gained a lot from the Safavid aestheticism with its rich colours of jewel hue, its rich architectural decoration and its flat aerial perspective. At the same time, it anticipates the coming Indian feature in its naturalism.