#hamzanama

[fishstickmonkey]

A Heroine Forcibly Enters a Jail to Liberate Heroes, from a Hamzanama

Type; Manuscript folio

Historical period: Mughal dynasty, Reign of Akbar, third quarter of 16th c.

Medium: Opaque watercolor on cloth

Geography: India

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

[thefugitivesaint]

Tara (active 1557-1577) 'Umar Defeats a Dragon', from ''Hamzanama'', 1557-58 “The Hamzanama is based on a story from a centuries-old oral tradition. It tells of Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib (c. 569–625), the uncle of the prophet Muhammad (c. 570–632). The historical Hamza was opposed to Islam at first until he converted in 615, after which he became one of its most ardent advocate. The historical facts were embroidered over the centuries with a variety of fictional events. The tales of the Hamzanama are about the struggles of the Muslims against the “infidels” and the attempt to convert them; likewise legendary sorcerers, demons and fairies, daring heroes, brave women and trickster spies, who are said to have played a role in the life of the Amir Hamza. They were commissioned by Akbar, the “Great” (r. 1556–1605), probably the most influential of all Mughal rulers, and were created between 1557 and 1577 in his court workshops. It is renowned as one of the most important works of painting in the Islamic world. Today a total of 200 out of the original 1,400 folios of Akbar’s Hamzanama, compiled into 14 volumes, have been preserved in various collections worldwide. The MAK has the greatest quantity, with 60 folios. This incongruence in preservation and the many oral versions of Hamza’s story prevent a more precise determination of the sequence of the folios.” Source: http://www.europeana.eu/portal/en/record/2063629/AUS_280_007.html

[crasswench]

Hamza arrives in Mecca, ca. 1562-1577

“The faces of all the living beings in the painting, whether human or animal, have been deliberately obliterated, probably in the 19th century.”

[cynicalclassicist]

Images from #Hamzanama in V&A. (at Victoria and Albert Museum) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvFU4w5g5rl/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ovexezj3vatu

[brassmanticore]

The prophet Ilyas rescuing Prince Nur ad-Dahr from drowning in a river (from a Hamzanama of Akbar)

Mughal, late 16th century

Gouache on cotton, 81 cm by 61 cm

The Hamzanama ('Book of Hamza'), is a heroic romance about the legendary adventures of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle, Amir Hamza. Here he is rescued by the prophet Elijah (known to Muslims as Ilyas). Elijah is mentioned in both the Bible and in the Qur'an. In Muslim tradition, he acquired a popular status as a miraculous guardian-figure. The young Mughal emperor Akbar (reigned 1556-1605) enjoyed listening to the tales of the Hamzanama at his court, and in 1562 he ordered his artists to produce an illustrated version. The project was to occupy the imperial studio for at least fifteen years. The completed work was fourteen volumes long, with each volume illustrated by one hundred paintings! Approximately one hundred of the paintings survive today. Their confident style shows a surprising level of unity, coming from artists recently gathered from the very different artistic traditions of India and Safavid Persia. Akbar took a keen interest in the activities of his court artists, and it seems that he was directly involved in the design of the Hamzanama paintings. His biographer described it as 'that wondrous book which is one of the astonishing novelties that His Majesty has conceived of'. As a boy, he was taught to paint by ‘Abd as-Samad, an Iranian artist who had come to India on the invitation of Akbar's father Humayun, and was later the head of the imperial studio. After becoming the emperor at the age of fourteen, Akbar took to visiting the studio once a week, to review progress, and award gifts and pay-rises when appropriate.

In the British Museum / Google Art Project

[magictransistor]

Court of Mughal Emperor Akbar. Scene from the Hamzanama. 1562.

[eyeburfi2]

[thorsteinulf]

Hamza-Nâma - Mihrdukht shoots her arrow through a ring (1564-79)