This painting reportedly comes from volume three of the Akbarnama manuscript. The scene depicts courtiers waiting to congratulate Akbar possibly for the birth of his second son Murad with the presentation of a cheetah. The painting is interesting in its portrayal of Akbar’s royal court with people of different nationalities, ranks and professions vividly animated. These comprise onlookers from the Deccan with their tall turbans with slash wounds in the fashion of Bijapur, musicians, and a man holding a bird cage. A token European gentleman in Portuguese costume adds further interest to this line-up. Akbarnama literally means Book of Akbar. It chronicles the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor (r. 1556-1605). The work was commissioned by Akbar and written in Persian by his court historian and biographer, Abu’l Fazl. According to scholars of Indian art, The Victoria and Albert and British Library/Chester Beatty manuscripts are the only other two surviving copies of Abu ‘I-Fazl’s biography that contains large numbers of miniatures contemporary with Akbar’s life. Thus, this folio is an important chronicle about Mughal period and its court publications.
