It was produced in Mughal Empire (India). Later V&A purchased it from Frances Clarke, who acquired it in India while serving as a commissioner of Oudh between 1858-62.
The painting "Akbar Receiving the Drums and Standards Captured from Abdullah Khan Uzbeg, Governor of Malwa, in 1564" is made by Mahesh (or Mohesh). It is an illustration from the Akbarnama and a significant example of Mughal manuscript painting that encodes political authority through carefully constructed visual symbolism. The painting bears a contemporary librarian's inscription in red ink beneath the image: "Tarh Mohesh / Amal Anant", meaning "composition by Mohesh / painting by Anant".
The painting depicts a pivotal event in Akbar's consolidation of imperial authority. Abdullah Khan Uzbeg had originally helped Akbar conquer Malwa, defeating its ruler Baz Bahadur around 1562, and was subsequently appointed governor of the province. However, in a pattern common among the Uzbeg nobility of the Mughal court, who adhered to the Chingizid tradition of shared sovereignty among elites, Abdullah Khan refused to send the required tribute to Akbar and asserted regional autonomy. On 6 August 1564, Akbar marched personally to Malwa along with Munim Khan to suppress the rebellion. Abdullah Khan Uzbeg was vanquished that same year.
In the composition, Akbar is shown seated on an elephant, a symbol of Mughal authority, as he receives captured drums and military standards from envoys. The elephant represents the emperor's divine right and power. The drums and standards, representing sovereignty, indicate the defeat of one ruler and the reaffirmation of another's authority. This presentation ritualises the transfer of power from the rebel governor to Akbar, signalling the nullification of Abdullah Khan Uzbeg’s claims and the reabsorption of sovereignty into the emperor.
More broadly, the painting illustrates how music and performance served as languages of victory and political legitimacy in the Mughal world. Musicians travelled with armies and royal courts. The captured drums in this painting symbolise how artistic and musical traditions followed changing political centres, growing, surviving, and transforming as they adapted to new patrons.
Stylistically, the painting exemplifies the characteristic synthesis of indigenous Indian, Persian, and Western traditions that defined Mughal painting under Akbar. The vibrant, saturated colour palette reflects Indian preferences for bold primary colours, while the vertical format and intricate patterning draw on Persian miniature conventions. European influences, particularly the rendering of spatial depth, had also entered the Mughal visual vocabulary through contact with Western missionaries in the late sixteenth century. The painting's relative scale of figures to the picture plane, larger than the Persian tradition favoured, demonstrates the Indian emphasis on the human form as the primary subject.
Akbar receiving the drums and standards captured from Abdullah Khan Uzbeg (described by Mohesh and painted by Anant) conveys something much more than the glory of a military conquest. It seems to make an important declaration about the power of the Mughal emperor. Drawn from the Akbarnama, this scene shows Akbar receiving the drums and standards from Abdullah Khan Uzbeg in the battle which was fought in 1564 after he had been defeated and revolted.
Warfare has been transformed to ceremony through the arrangement of the space. Akbar is seen to be seated above the scene upon a richly adorned elephant, accompanied by other figures in attendance, while the battleground below is a riot of soldiers, horses and elephants. The drums and standards that were captured are emblems of surrendered authority, and are displayed to show the conclusive nature of political power vested in the emperor alone. The image is remarkable for the way it juxtaposes the violent chaos of battle with the dignified, elevated presence of Akbar. The picture seems to me to be concerned more with the idea of "restoring an empire to order" rather than simply conquering. Even the elephant seems to bear insignia of the sovereign and strengthens the assertion of Akbar's sovereign power. This painting seems to imply that only truly sovereign can turn a success upon the battlefield into long lasting sovereignty.
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By: Jyotirmaya Samanta
This Mughal miniature painting, taken right from the famous Akbarnama manuscript, captures a pivotal moment of victory with incredible energy and movement. Up toward the top right, Emperor Akbar sits grandly atop a heavily decorated elephant, dressed in a muted green tunic and holding a slim lance looking down with calm authority. He is surrounded by his royal entourage, who wave ornate flywhisks, ceremonial fan-like banners, and round standards high into the air, while off in the distant background, a walled city sits quietly nestled against soft green hills.
Directly across from the emperor, on the left side, a commander clad in a bright blue and gold tunic steps forward, gesturing toward the spoils of war being brought before the king. You can see the captured drums and standards, the prized symbols of authority taken from the rebellious governor, Abdullah Khan Uzbeg being presented as clear proof of triumph. A second massive dark elephant stands tucked away in the upper left corner with its mahout, adding to the crowded density of the royal procession.
Ah, and then there is the lower half of the page, which completely shifts tone into raw, tangled drama. The artist filled this lower section with dynamic horsemen charging across a rocky terrain on swift, brightly caparisoned horses. Riders draw their bows, brandish curved swords, and brace themselves behind small round shields, while a few fallen soldiers and panicked steeds tumble down onto the ground beneath them. Persian calligraphic text bands slice horizontally across the artwork, interrupting the visual space with narrative commentary that anchors the historic scene.
The colors throughout the whole image are remarkably rich, deep crimson reds, golden yellows, vivid blues, and soft earthy pinks all coming together to weave a story that feels both royal and wildly turbulent. Rather than showing just one static moment, the piece beautifully blends the calm visual weight of imperial majesty with the chaotic, violent reality of the battlefield that brought about the triumph.
