Ruled painting in pink frame with gold floral scroll, mounted on cream paper with gold floral decoration. In the painting, Eskander sits in a treehouse platform, taking a cup offered by his companion, wearing a Humayun-style turban. The background features scenes of a small city, musicians, and other figures in landscape.
AKM147, Eskandar in a Tree Pavilion

© The Aga Khan Museum

Two text-columns of 6 lines nasta`liq in black against gold background, with gold-illuminated white and pink panels above and below, within gold-rule frame of dark blue with gold floral illumination, mounted on cream paper with gold floral designs
AKM147, Eskandar in a Tree Pavilion

© The Aga Khan Museum

Click on the image to zoom

Eskandar in a Tree Pavilion
  • Accession Number:AKM147
  • Place:India
  • Dimensions:43.8 cm × 28.8 cm
  • Date:ca. 1610
  • Materials and Technique:Opaque watercolour and gold on paper

Persian, Indian, and European forms converge in this stunning painting of Alexander the Great (Eskandar). Seated in a pose that resembles that of the Mughal ruler Humayun, Eskandar wears a helmet engraved with the image of a horse—perhaps his beloved Bucephalus—that echoes the prancing animals at upper right. The helmet’s Italian all’antica style ("in the manner of the ancients") both signals the adoption of European motifs in Mughal India and participates in a revival of the shared classical past epitomized by Alexander. 
 
- Filiz Çakır Phillip and Suzanne Conklin Akbari

Note: This online resource is reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis. We are committed to improving this information and will revise and update knowledge about this object as it becomes available.