Baburnama illustration, depicting a prince and attendants under a shamiana (tent shelter)
Image source: collections.vam.ac.uk

Baburnama illustration, depicting a prince and attendants under a shamiana (tent shelter)

Support Type: Paper
Paint Type: Gouache
Current Location: Victoria and Albert Museum (South Kensington, London, United Kingdom)
Location History:Historical Context & Origin (c. 1589–1590): The illustration originates from the First Baburnama manuscript (also known as the South Kensington Baburnama). The Baburnama comprises the personal memoirs written in Chagatai Turkic by Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur (1483–1530), the founder of the Mughal dynasty. In November 1589, Babur's grandson, the Mughal Emperor Akbar, had the memoirs translated into Persian by his nobleman Abd al-Rahim Khan-i-Khanan. Immediately after the translation was completed, Akbar commissioned his royal imperial workshop (kitabkhana) to produce this first lavishly illustrated manuscript, originally containing around 193 miniature paintings. Specific Narrative Scene: The illustration depicts a historical event from 1497 when a young Babur fell critically ill in Samarkand for four days and received envoys and attendants while lying weak on a carpet/platform beneath a temporary pavilion tent (shamiana). Below the main scene, two Persian text panels in Nasta'liq script describe the event, followed by a smaller attribution note identifying the artists involved in its composition and painting (composed by Ya'qub Kashmiri and painted by Na'il). Dispersal & Acquisition (1913): The original manuscript remained intact in the imperial library for centuries until it was broken up and dispersed for individual sale in Europe in 1913. Approximately 70 illustrations survived across worldwide public and private collections, with around 20 detached folios—including this page (IM.273-1913)—being acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1913.

The Baburnama illustration presents the prince and attendants beneath a richly rendered shamiana, emphasizing Mughal courtly refinement and hierarchical order. Delicate linework, controlled colour modulation, ornamental textiles and spatial recession create visual elegance. The composition balances ceremonial grandeur with intimate interaction, reflecting the manuscript’s fusion of historical narration and sophisticated pictorial aesthetics.

Share By: Sneha Bhattacharjee
Information Compiled by ARNAV DEY
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