Hulagu Khan giving a feast and dispensing favor upon the amirs and princes, from a Chingiz-nama (Book of Chingiz Khan) of the Jami al-tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles) (c. 1596–1600): Art, History a

Hulagu Khan giving a feast and dispensing favor upon the amirs and princes, from a Chingiz-nama (Book of Chingiz Khan) of the Jami al-tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles) (c. 1596–1600) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Lal (Indian, active c. 1555–1600); Dharam Das (Indian, active c. 1580–1605); Padarath (Indian, active late 1500s).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Seated on a lapis-blue floral carpet is Chingiz (Genghis) Khan’s grandson, who ruled Iran from 1256 to 1265. This painting is from an illustrated copy of the history of Chingiz Khan and his family that the Mughal emperor Akbar commissioned toward the end of the latter’s life. Mughal is the Persian word for Mongol, and Akbar traced direct genealogical descent from Chingiz Khan on his mother’s side. The nomadic Mongols created court settings using portable platforms and elegant carpets and tents. Multilevel canopies of imperial crimson mark the position of the khan, which means “ruler” in Mongolian.

Object facts

• Title: Hulagu Khan giving a feast and dispensing favor upon the amirs and princes, from a Chingiz-nama (Book of Chingiz Khan) of the Jami al-tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles)
• Date: c. 1596–1600
• Creator attribution: Lal (Indian, active c. 1555–1600); Dharam Das (Indian, active c. 1580–1605); Padarath (Indian, active late 1500s)
• Culture: Mughal India
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Page: 38.4 x 25.2 cm (15 1/8 x 9 15/16 in.); Painting: 33.3 x 21.1 cm (13 1/8 x 8 5/16 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art - Mughal
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 2013.304

A detail from the museum

Mongol rulers were identified by the five-feathered crown.

Collection credit

Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection

Further reading listed by the museum

• Mace, Sonya Rhie, Mohsen Ashtiany, Catherine Glynn, Pedro Moura Carvalho, Marcus Fraser, and Ruby Lal. Mughal Paintings: Art and Stories: the Cleveland Museum of Art. London: D Giles Limited, 2016 .

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.