Nanha (painter) explained

Nanha (Persian: نانها, Nānhā;), also called Nanah or Nana, was an Indian painter and illuminator of the Mughal era, active during the reigns of emperors Akbar the Great, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.^[1]

Selected works

• Illustrations in a MS. of the Dārābz-nāma ('Story of Darab'), (London, BL, Or. MS. 4615);
• Illustrations in a MS. of the Razm-nāma ('Books of war'), 1582–6 (Jaipur, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, MS. AG. 1683–1850);
• Illustrations for a translation of the Mahābhārata commissioned by Akbar;
• Illustrations in a MS. of the Tārīkh-i Khāndān-i Tīmūriyya ('History of the house of Timur'), (Bankipur, Patna, Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library);
• Illustrations, including portraits, in an edition of the Akbarnāma ('History of Akbar'), (London, Victoria & Albert Museum, MS. IS. 2–1896);
• One painting (attributed) in Akbar's copy of the Dīvān ('collected poems') of Anvari, 1588 (Cambridge, MA, Sackler Museum, MS. 1960.117.15)
• Four illustrations in a MS. of the Khamsa ('Five poems') of Nizami, 1595 (London, BL, Or. MS. 12208, fols 63v, 159r, and 305v)
• Signed work (Baltimore, MD, Walters Art Museum, MS. W.613, fol. 16v);
• Painting in a MS. of the Jahāngīr-nāma ('History of Jahangir'), (London, Victoria & Albert Museum, MS. IS. 185–1984), includes a self-portrait (shown above right);
• Portrait of Zulfiqar Khan in the Minto Album, (London, Victoria & Albert Museum);
• Portrait of Sayf Khan Barha (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 55.121.10.4v);
• Perils of the Hunt (Free Library of Philadelphia), painted atypically on silk, exemplifies Nanha's penchant for ravening lions.

See also

• Mughal painting
• Muraqqa

Sources

• Book: Beach, Milo Cleveland . The Grand Mogul: Imperial Painting in India, 1600–1660 . Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute . 1978 . United States of America . 34, 64, 74, 76, 93, 108, 109, 140, 147ff, 150–51.
• Encyclopedia: 2009 . Nanha [Nānhā] ]. Bloom . J. . Blair . S.. The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Oxford University Press. online.
• Encyclopedia: 2012 . Nanha . Benezit Dictionary of Asian Artists . Oxford University Press . Kember . P.. online.
• Encyclopedia: 2003 . Nanha [Nānhā] ]. Grove Art Online . Oxford Art Online . Seyller . J. . online. 10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T060862 . 978-1-884446-05-4 .
• Encyclopedia: Nanha or Nanah or Nana . Benezit Dictionary of Artists . Oxford Art Online . 31 October 2011. 10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.B00128620 . 978-0-19-977378-7 .

Notes and References

1. Seyller 2003.