The Imam of Baghdad brought before the Caliph on a charge of heresy from the Tarikh-i-Alfi

Object Details

• Artist

  Basawan

• Court

  Mughal Court

• School/Tradition

  Mughal school

• Label

  The Emperor Akbar commissioned the writing of the Tarikh-i-Alfi, (The History of a Thousand Years), to celebrate the year 1000 (1591-92) on the Muslim calendar. The manuscript probably contained hundreds of paintings, but only about thirty survive today.

• Provenance

  To 1931

  Ajit Ghose, Calcutta to 1931 [1]

  From 1931

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Ajit Ghose, Calcutta in 1931 [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Object file, undated folder sheet note.

  [2] See note 1. Also see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, Collections Management Office.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  The Imperial Image: Painting for the Mughal Court (September 25, 1981 to 30 March 1982)

  Indian Art (January 1, 1963 to January 28, 1981)

  Untitled Exhibition, Mughal Painting, 1947 (April 23 to September 30, 1947)

  Untitled Exhibition, Mughal Painting (December 20, 1944 to April 23, 1947)

  Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Paintings, Gallery 4 (May 5, 1933 to January 9, 1945)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Ajit Ghose

• Origin

  India

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1590s, 1580s

• Name

  Ghose, Ajit

• Place

  India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Imam, Art, Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), Reign of Akbar (1556 - 1605), Qur'an, Caliph

• Culture

  Muslims, Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings