Miniature from a copy of Rashid al-Din’s Jami al-tawarikh. ‘Tayang Khan Presented with the Head of the Mongol Leader Ong Khan’
India, Mughal; c. 1596
Miniature: 35.1 × 20.9 cm
Inventory number 39/1980
By commissioning a copy of Rashid al-Din’s famous History of the World, Akbar emphasized that his own family was descended from Genghis Khan. The beautiful, colorful, and very detailed miniature illustrates an episode from the history of the Mongols. The soldiers are shown with contemporary Mughal paraphernalia, for example muskets. Horribly realistic details, such as decapitated heads, are shown alongside a puzzle picture of an elephant’s head at the top of the cliffs.
A contemporary note under the painting states that it was drawn by Miskina and colored by Kesu, both of whom worked in Akbar’s studio.
A contemporary note under the painting states that it was drawn by Miskina and colored by Kesu, both of whom worked in Akbar’s studio.
Published in
Published in
Sotheby’s, London 22/4 1980, lot 32;
Islamiske våben i dansk privateje = Islamic Arms and Armour from Private Danish Collections, Davids Samling, Copenhagen 1982, fig. 2, p. 43;
Kjeld von Folsach: Islamic Art. The David Collection, Copenhagen 1990, cat. 43;
Kjeld von Folsach: “Textiles and Society,” Carpet and Textile Art, (Hali Annual, 1), 1994, fig. 11, p. 23;
Kjeld von Folsach, Torben Lundbæk and Peder Mortensen (ed.): Sultan, Shah and Great Mughal. The History and Culture of the Islamic World, National Museum, Copenhagen 1996, cat. 87;
Kjeld von Folsach: Art from the World of Islam in The David Collection, Copenhagen 2001, cat. 66;
Kjeld von Folsach: For the Privileged Few. Islamic Miniature Painting from The David Collection, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk 2007, cat. 74;
Gian Carlo Calza (ed.): Akbar. The Great Emperor of India 1542-1605, Fondazione Roma Museo, Milano 2012, pp. 160, 257, kat. IV.11;
Kjeld von Folsach and Joachim Meyer: The Human Figure in Islamic Art. Holy Men, Princes and Commoners, The David Collection, Copenhagen 2017, fig. 27, p. 101;
Kjeld von Folsach, Joachim Meyer and Peter Wandel: Fighting, Hunting, Impressing. Arms and Armour from the Islamic World 1500-1850, The David Collection, Copenhagen 2021, cat. 53;
Charles Melville: “Akbar’s History of the Mongols. The Chingīznāma from Origin to Dispersal,” Journal of Islamic Manuscripts, 17:2, 2026, s. 146, 158;
Islamiske våben i dansk privateje = Islamic Arms and Armour from Private Danish Collections, Davids Samling, Copenhagen 1982, fig. 2, p. 43;
Kjeld von Folsach: Islamic Art. The David Collection, Copenhagen 1990, cat. 43;
Kjeld von Folsach: “Textiles and Society,” Carpet and Textile Art, (Hali Annual, 1), 1994, fig. 11, p. 23;
Kjeld von Folsach, Torben Lundbæk and Peder Mortensen (ed.): Sultan, Shah and Great Mughal. The History and Culture of the Islamic World, National Museum, Copenhagen 1996, cat. 87;
Kjeld von Folsach: Art from the World of Islam in The David Collection, Copenhagen 2001, cat. 66;
Kjeld von Folsach: For the Privileged Few. Islamic Miniature Painting from The David Collection, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk 2007, cat. 74;
Gian Carlo Calza (ed.): Akbar. The Great Emperor of India 1542-1605, Fondazione Roma Museo, Milano 2012, pp. 160, 257, kat. IV.11;
Kjeld von Folsach and Joachim Meyer: The Human Figure in Islamic Art. Holy Men, Princes and Commoners, The David Collection, Copenhagen 2017, fig. 27, p. 101;
Kjeld von Folsach, Joachim Meyer and Peter Wandel: Fighting, Hunting, Impressing. Arms and Armour from the Islamic World 1500-1850, The David Collection, Copenhagen 2021, cat. 53;
Charles Melville: “Akbar’s History of the Mongols. The Chingīznāma from Origin to Dispersal,” Journal of Islamic Manuscripts, 17:2, 2026, s. 146, 158;
Miniature Paintings
