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Lot Essay
This illustration is from a dispersed copy of the Razmnama (‘Book of War’) prepared in 1616-17 for the great bibliophile ‘Abd al-Rahim, Khan-e Khanan, commander-in-chief of the Mughal armies to which he was appointed in 1584. The Mughal Emperor Akbar had commissioned a Persian translation of the Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, in 1582-83 which was not completed until 1586. It became known by its Persian title, Razmnama. This imperial illustrated manuscript with 168 paintings is now in the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum in Jaipur. Three later illustrated copies of the imperial manuscript are known, the first dating from circa 1598-99, the second dated 1605, and the third copy to which this illustrated folio belongs dated to circa 1616-1617.
The Razmnama, as an abridged version of the Mahabharata, tells the story of the rivalry between cousins, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, over the kingdom of Hastinapura in north India. A central figure is the god Krishna, who assists the Pandava brothers. Here he is depicted arriving at Hastinapura on a chariot with Arjuna, the third Pandava brother.
In many ways, the 1616-17 manuscript surpassed the earlier two: it was larger and its miniatures demonstrate a move away from mere imitation of the imperial Akbar style, incorporating new elements such as a brilliance of colour and a boldness of execution that must derive from Hindu painting. The leading artist working on this manuscript was Fazl, and several illustrations from the 1616-17 copy, including the present painting, have been ascribed or attributed to him. For further reading see Seyller, 1985, pp.37-66 and Seyller, 1999, pp.252-5.
Other leaves from this manuscript have been offered for sale at Christie’s, London, 26 April 2012, lot 7; 4 October 20012, lot 37; and more recently, Christie’s South Kensington, 28 April 2017, lot 310.
The Razmnama, as an abridged version of the Mahabharata, tells the story of the rivalry between cousins, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, over the kingdom of Hastinapura in north India. A central figure is the god Krishna, who assists the Pandava brothers. Here he is depicted arriving at Hastinapura on a chariot with Arjuna, the third Pandava brother.
In many ways, the 1616-17 manuscript surpassed the earlier two: it was larger and its miniatures demonstrate a move away from mere imitation of the imperial Akbar style, incorporating new elements such as a brilliance of colour and a boldness of execution that must derive from Hindu painting. The leading artist working on this manuscript was Fazl, and several illustrations from the 1616-17 copy, including the present painting, have been ascribed or attributed to him. For further reading see Seyller, 1985, pp.37-66 and Seyller, 1999, pp.252-5.
Other leaves from this manuscript have been offered for sale at Christie’s, London, 26 April 2012, lot 7; 4 October 20012, lot 37; and more recently, Christie’s South Kensington, 28 April 2017, lot 310.