Portrait of the Emperor Akbar
Unknown Artist
19th century
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions
Painting: H. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm) W. 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm) Page: H. 14 5/8 in. (37.1 cm) W. 10 5/16 in. (26.2 cm) Mat: H. 19 1/4 in. (48.9 cm) W. 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm)
Classification
Codices
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Alexander Smith Cochran, 1913
Accession Number
13.228.44
Tags
About this artwork
This 19th-century portrait of Emperor Akbar exemplifies the enduring fascination with India's greatest Mughal ruler more than two centuries after his death in 1605. Executed in ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, the work demonstrates the continued vitality of Mughal miniature painting traditions even as British colonial power transformed the Indian subcontinent. Akbar the Great (r. 1556-1605) established the Mughal Empire's golden age through military conquest, administrative genius, and...