id: 170808
accession number: 2013.309
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2013.309
updated: 2022-09-22 11:00:54.008000
Akbar supervising the capture of wild elephants at Malwa in 1564, painting 90 from an Akbar-nama (Book of Akbar) of Abu’l Fazl (Indian 1551–1602), c. 1602–3; borders added c. 1700s. Attributed to Farukh Chela (Indian), or Govardhan (Indian, active c.1596–1645), or Dhanraj (Indian). Ink with use of colors and gold on paper, mounted on an album page with borders of gold-decorated buff and blue paper (recto); calligraphy by Faqir Ali (verso); page: 37.5 x 25.4 cm (14 3/4 x 10 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.309
title: Akbar supervising the capture of wild elephants at Malwa in 1564, painting 90 from an Akbar-nama (Book of Akbar) of Abu’l Fazl (Indian 1551–1602)
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: c. 1602–3; borders added c. 1700s
creation date earliest: 1596
creation date latest: 1604
current location:
creditline: Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection
copyright:
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culture: Mughal India;made for Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)
technique: ink with use of colors and gold on paper, mounted on an album page with borders of gold-decorated buff and blue paper (recto); calligraphy by Faqir Ali (verso)
department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection: Indian Art - Mughal
type: Painting
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
* Farukh Chela (Indian) - artist
* Govardhan (Indian, active c.1596–1645) - artist
* Dhanraj (Indian) - artist
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measurements: Page: 37.5 x 25.4 cm (14 3/4 x 10 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
inscription: recto: Folio 229, painting 97 from the so-called Chester Beatty Akbarnama
verso: calligraphy in nast'aliq script by Faqir Ali
translation:
remark:
inscription: Verso: From a ghazal of Badr al-Din Hilali Jaghata’i (Persian, active c. 1500)
c. 1550; borders added c. 1700s and mounted upside down
Faqir Ali (Persian, active c. 1550–1610)
Probably Safavid
Calligraphy, Persian verses in nasta‘liq script:
He is Venerable!
I am the dust on the path of the messenger to my beloved’s hallowed sanctuary;
Perchance I may reach the destination in his footsteps.
On the burn in my branded heart, do not place any soothing balm,
So that the comfort that I draw from my pain and sorrow for my beloved does not abate.
translation:
remark:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Art and Stories from Mughal India
opening date: 2016-07-31T04:00:00
Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* A Flower From Every Meadow. Asia House Gallery, New York, NY; Center for Asian Art and Culture, San Francisco, CA; Albright-Know Gallery of Art, Buffalo, New York, NY (1973).
* Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 245). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 31, 2013-June 30, 2014).
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PROVENANCE
Hagop Kevorkian [1872–1962], New York, NY
date: before 1962
footnotes:
citations:
(Sotheby’s, London, Highly Important Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures: The Property of Kevorkian Foundation, 1 December 1969, lot 120, sold to Ralph Benkaim)
date: December 1, 1969
footnotes:
citations:
Ralph Benkaim [1914-2001] and Catherine Glynn Benkaim [b. 1946], Beverly Hills, CA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
date: 1969-2013
footnotes:
citations:
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
date: 2013-
footnotes:
citations:
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fun fact:
A yak-tail flywhisk, ancient Indian symbol of sovereignty, is held up for Akbar.
digital description:
wall description:
This painting is from a biography of Akbar made shortly before his death. It depicts a historical event from early in his reign when he encountered a herd of wild elephants and captured many of them for his royal stables. Akbar rides horseback in the upper left, directing his men as two trained elephants give chase in the foreground. The Mughals caught wild elephants by chasing them with tame elephants, then tethering them together and feeding them their favorite food. European prints had made their way into Akbar’s collection, and they provided the visual source for distant cityscapes, rolling hills, and less densely colored paintings.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
Mace, Sonya Rhie, Mohsen Ashtiany, Catherine Glynn, Pedro Moura Carvalho, Marcus Fraser, and Ruby Lal. Mughal Paintings: Art and Stories: the Cleveland Museum of Art. London: D Giles Limited, 2016.
page number: cat. no. 23, pp. 171-173
url:
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.309/2013.309_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.309/2013.309_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.309/2013.309_full.tif