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Page of disasters, from the Tarikh-i Alfi (History of a Thousand Years)

Unknown

1595

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Mughal Painting Renaissance Renaissance History Painting Mughal School

Dominant colour

Page of disasters, from the Tarikh-i Alfi (History of a Thousand Years) is a 1595 unspecified by Unknown, a Mughal Painting work, depicting Mughal School, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1595 · Mughal Painting
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a busy page from an old book: tiny people, buildings, and a black cube at the top that looks like a shrine. The cube is the Ka‘ba in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam. The person holding the book has Akbar’s name written inside—Akbar was the Mughal emperor who ruled India at the time. The painting wraps around the text like a frame, telling the story in pictures. If you like this, look up more about the Mughal school.

The story of this work

Overview

A distinctive feature of this manuscript is the descriptive painting surrounding the blocks of text. At the top of this page is a depiction of the sacred center of Islam, the black stone structure called the Ka‘ba in Mecca that the Prophet Muhammad cleansed of pre-Muslim idols. The Ka‘ba is the endpoint of the Islamic pilgrimage that all Muslims are enjoined to make at least once during their lifetime. Remarkably, Akbar’s name appears on the page of the book held by a devotee, where only prayers or Qur'anic passages should be found. During the time of the caliph who persecuted Shi‘ites, Mecca…

Read the full account in the museum source.