Image source: collections.vam.ac.uk
Victory of Khan Zaman (Ali Quli Khan)
Artist:Kanha
| Support Type: | Paper |
| Paint Type: | Watercolor |
| Current Location: | Victoria and Albert Museum (V &A), south Kensington, London, United Kingdom. |
| Location History: | The Akbarnama, or "Book of Akbar", was commissioned by the emperor Akbar as the official chronicle of his reign. It was written by 1590 and 1596 and is thought to have been illustrated between ca. 1592 and 1594 by at least forty-nine different artists from Akbar's studio. After Akbar's death in 1605, the manuscript remained in the library of his son, Jahangir (r.1605-1627) and later Shah Jahan (r.1628-1658). The Victoria and Albert Museum purchased it in 1896 from Mrs. Frances Clarke, the widow of Major General John Clarke, an official who had been the Commissioner in Oudh province between 1858 and 1862. |
The painting transforms a chaotic military encounter into an ordered assertion of Mughal power: its sweeping composition, dense cavalry, and dynamic figures celebrate imperial discipline and martial superiority, while also reflecting the collaborative sophistication of Akbar’s royal atelier. Its deeper significance lies in its political irony, for Khan Zaman later rebelled against Akbar and was executed; by including him in the emperor’s official chronicle, the image selectively preserves his earlier service while subordinating his memory to the authority and continuity of the Mughal state
Information Compiled by
Taranpreet Kaur