Babur at the Capture of Kabul in 910 H (A.D. 1504), from an Akbarnama

Object Details

• Patron

  Akbar (reigned 1556-1605)

• Artist

  Mahesh

  Basawan

• Court

  Mughal Court

• School/Tradition

  Mughal school

• Label

  During the 1580s, the Emperor Akbar became increasingly interested in illustrations of historical or natural history subject matter, and these replaced his earlier concern for such tales of fantasy as the Hamza-nama. Among Akbar's projects was an illustrated historical account of his own reign, and this began by discussing the events preceding his birth. Babur, shown here, was his grandfather and the first Mughal emperor.

• Provenance

  1586-1590 - ?

  Akbar (1542-1605; reign 1556-1605), commissioned from the artists, Mahesh and Basawan [1]

  ?-at least 1928

  Ownership information unknown

  At least 1928-?

  Demotte Inc., New York, NY, method of acquisition unknown [2]

  ?-at least 1944

  Ownership information unknown

  At least 1944-1945

  Heeramaneck Galleries (active 1928-1964), New York, NY, method of acquisition unknown [3]

  From 1945

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Heeramaneck Galleries [4]

  Notes:

  [1] See Milo Beach, “The Imperial Image: Paintings for the Mughal Court,” (Washington, DC and Ahmedabad, India: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Mapin International Inc., 2012), cat. 9, pp. 67-69.

  [2] See Edgar Blochet, “Catalogue of an Exhibition of Persian Paintings from the XIIth to the XVIIIth cent. Formerly from the Collections of the Shahs of Persia and of the Great Moguls held at the Gallery Demotte Inc.,” [sale catalogue], (New York: Demotte, Inc., November-December 1928), cat. 151, pp. 9-10, 54. Object is described as, “Baber, seated on the throne, surrounded by his staff, receives the commander of Kandahar and his officers, who have just surrendered. [/] The magnificent painting decorated the Memoirs of Baber and was executed at Delhi at the end of the XVIth century for the Emperor Akbar. It is the work of Mahesh; the faces and important personages were finished by Basawan.”

  Georges Demotte

  (1877-1923) was a collector and dealer of Islamic and medieval European art. He had galleries in Paris and New York City.

  [2] See “Islamic Art: Selected Examples from the Loan Exhibition of Islamic Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art” [exhibition catalogue], (Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, November 1944-February 4, 1945), ill. p. 25. Object is described as, “Surrender of the Commandant of Kandahar, by Mahesh and Basawan.” The lender is described as, “Lent by Heeramaneck Galleries.”

  See also letter from Rita W. Edwards, Administrative Secretary to the Director, to Nasli Heeramaneck, dated February 21, 1945, copy in object file. The object was transferred from the Cleveland Museum of Art on behalf of the Heeramaneck Galleries to the Freer Gallery of Art for acquisition consideration on February 21, 1945. Object is described as, “the Indian painting (No. 87)[,] which the Cleveland Museum of Art has so kindly sent to the Freer Gallery of Art.”

  Heeramaneck Galleries in New York, NY owned and operated by Nasli M. (1902-1971) and Alice N. Heeramaneck (née Arvine) (1910-1993). The Heeramaneck’s were dealers and collectors of Pre-Columbian and Asian art. Nasli Heeramaneck began his career as a dealer in Paris during the 1920s and relocated to New York, NY in 1927. In 1939, Nasli married Alice Arvine, an American portrait painter from New Haven, CT. Nasli founded Heeramaneck Galleries in New York, NY by 1928. He began to retire in 1964 and liquidated some of the gallery’s stock at auction at Parke-Barnet, New York in 1964 and 1965. Many objects from the Heeramaneck collection were either purchased or donated to American museums. Items from their collection may be found in The British Museum; the Cleveland Museum of Art; Los Angeles County Museum; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; National Museum of New Delhi; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; and Yale University.

  [3] See object file for copy of the Heeramaneck Galleries invoice to Freer Gallery of Art, dated May 26, 1945, and marked approved on May 19, 1945. Object is described as, “Indian painting of the Emperor receiving an Embassy, Mughal School 16th century.”

  Research updated November 27, 2023

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Body Image (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Arts of the Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas (October 16, 2004 to January 3, 2016)

  South and South East Asian Art (May 9, 1993 to February 7, 2000)

  The Arts of South Asia (May 13, 1985 to December 2, 1985)

  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, South Asian Art, Gallery 8 (July 15, 1958 to January 1, 1963)

  Centennial Exhibition, West Corridor (February 25, 1956 to July 11, 1958)

  Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Painting, 1955 (October 24, 1955 to November 28, 1955)

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

  Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Paintings and Sculpture (October 2, 1947 to February 25, 1956)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Demotte, Inc.

  Heeramaneck Galleries (active 1928-1964)

• Origin

  India

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1590s, 1580s

• Name

  Demotte, Inc., Heeramaneck Galleries

• Place

  India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Animals, Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), Reign of Akbar (1556 - 1605), Kings and rulers, Elephants

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Language

  Nasta?li-q script

• Object Type

  Paintings