.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The Razmnama is the abridged version of the Hindu epic poem the Mahabharata, which tells the story of the rivalry between cousins, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, over the kingdom of Hastinapura. A central figure is the god Krishna, who assists the Pandava brothers. The massive work was translated into Persian at Akbar's request in 1582-3, but the presentation manuscript with 168 paintings, now preserved in the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum in Jaipur, was not completed until 1586. This illustration comes from the second copy of the Razmnama which was finished in 1598-9. It is not a mere replica or simplified version of the imperial prototype - less than a fifth of its paintings represent subjects found in the Jaipur Razmnama.
The illustrations to this manuscript were done by important artists working during the reign of Akbar. This one carries the name of Ibrahim Kahar, one of the many distinguished artists at Akbar's court who also worked on the Darabnama and the Baburnama now in the British Museum and another copy of the Baburnama now in the National Museum in Delhi.
The complete manuscript, originally in the collection of Gerald Reitlinger, was sold at Sotheby's London on 24th and 25th October 1921. The final five parts including the colophon are preserved in the British Library. Other miniatures are now in private and public collections including the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Chester Beatty Library, the India Office Library and the Keir Collection.
For a detailed discussion of the 1598 Razmnama, see J. Seyller, "Model and Copy: the Illustration of Three Razmnama Manuscripts", Archives of Art, vol. XXXVIII, 1985, pp. 37-66 and J. Seyller, Workshop and +Patron in Mughal India, Zurich, 1999, pp. 24-27.
The illustrations to this manuscript were done by important artists working during the reign of Akbar. This one carries the name of Ibrahim Kahar, one of the many distinguished artists at Akbar's court who also worked on the Darabnama and the Baburnama now in the British Museum and another copy of the Baburnama now in the National Museum in Delhi.
The complete manuscript, originally in the collection of Gerald Reitlinger, was sold at Sotheby's London on 24th and 25th October 1921. The final five parts including the colophon are preserved in the British Library. Other miniatures are now in private and public collections including the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Chester Beatty Library, the India Office Library and the Keir Collection.
For a detailed discussion of the 1598 Razmnama, see J. Seyller, "Model and Copy: the Illustration of Three Razmnama Manuscripts", Archives of Art, vol. XXXVIII, 1985, pp. 37-66 and J. Seyller, Workshop and +Patron in Mughal India, Zurich, 1999, pp. 24-27.