The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Babur receives booty and Humayun’s salute after the victory over Sultan Ibrahim in 1526, from an Akbar-nama (Book of Akbar) of Abu’l Fazl (Indian, 1551–1602)

c. 1596–1597 or 1604

Mughal India, court of Akbar

(reigned 1556–1605)
Gum tempera and gold on paper
Page: 42 x 27.6 cm (16 9/16 x 10 7/8 in.)
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 2013.308
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

A clerk records the amount of tribute that Babur received from conquered kings.

Description

The first Mughal emperor Babur sits enthroned as men bring gifts and sacks of tribute to mark a successful expansion of his territories. Emblematic of his role in leading the victory, his son Humayun wears a wine-and-gold robe of honor despite the Delhi heat in late April.

Marking the royal space are a carpet and canopy painted with a lapis lazuli ground. The floral vine motif called arabesque swirls around a central lobed medallion. These delicate patterns are inspired from Persian manuscript illuminations. Contemporary historians describe awnings of gold embroidery, brocade, and velvet along with colorful carpets resembling a beautiful flower bed.
  • V. Everit Macy (1871–1930), New York, NY
    ?–December 1981
    Collection of Richard and Barbara Blue Mickles
    –2013
    (Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Ralph Benkaim Collection, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2013–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • "Permanent Collection Installations." Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 64, no. 1 (2024): Cover, 18–19. Reproduced: p. 19 archive.org
  • Carpets and Canopies in Mughal India​ (Indian art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 22-September 8, 2024).
    Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (7/31/2016-10/23/2016); Art and Stories from Mughal India, cat. 22, p. 128, 146-47.
  • {{cite web|title=Babur receives booty and Humayun’s salute after the victory over Sultan Ibrahim in 1526, from an Akbar-nama (Book of Akbar) of Abu’l Fazl (Indian, 1551–1602)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1596–1597 or 1604|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.308