Cleveland Museum of Art

Babur receives booty and Humayun’s salute after the victory over Sultan Ibrahim in 1526, from an Akbar-nama (Book of Akbar) of Abu’l Fazl (Indian, 1551–1602)

Date

c. 1596–1597 or 1604

Medium

Gum tempera and gold on paper

Culture

Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The first Mughal emperor Babur sits enthroned as men bring gifts and sacks of tribute to mark a successful expansion of his territories. Emblematic of his role in leading the victory, his son Humayun wears a wine-and-gold robe of honor despite the Delhi heat in late April. Marking the royal space are a carpet and canopy painted with a lapis lazuli ground. The floral vine motif called arabesque swirls around a central lobed medallion. These delicate patterns are inspired from Persian manuscript illuminations. Contemporary historians describe awnings of gold embroidery, brocade, and velvet along with colorful carpets resembling a beautiful flower bed. A clerk records the amount of tribute that Babur received from conquered kings.

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