Qasam al-Abbas Arrives from Mecca and Crushes Tahmasp with a Mace

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Qasam al-Abbas Arrives from Mecca and Crushes Tahmasp with a Mace

Manuscript dated c. 1562-1577

Attributed to Mahesha (Indian, active c. 1570–1590)

This battle scene comes from a monumental manuscript of the Hamzanama that was produced for the Mughal Emperor Akbar (1556-1605). Based on a Persian legend, the Hamzanama was transmitted across the Muslim world, including India. Here the hero Qasam al-Abbas fights the giant villain Tahmasp. Their different mounts suggest their different nationalities: Qasam rides a camel, which together with the white cloth fastened in his helmet and looped around his face, is meant to indicate his Arab origins. (Indeed, the text confirms that he comes from Mecca, the center of Muslim pilgrimage on the Arabian peninsula.) Tahmasp, on the other hand, is a Persian villain and so rides a beautifully caparisoned Persian horse that wears gold armor held together by blue, Persian-style textiles.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Qasam al-Abbas Arrives from Mecca and Crushes Tahmasp with a Mace
Page from a dispersed manuscript of the Hamzanama (Adventures of Hamza)

Date:

Manuscript dated c. 1562-1577

Artist:

Attributed to Mahesha (Indian, active c. 1570–1590)

Medium:

Opaque watercolor and gold- and silver-colored metallic paint on cotton

Dimensions:

31 × 25 1/2 inches (78.7 × 64.8 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

Gift by exchange with the Brooklyn Museum, 1937

Accession Number:

1937-4-1

Geography:

Made in India, Asia or made in Pakistan, Asia

Context:

Dynasty: Mughal Dynasty (1526-1858) Reign: Akbar (1556-1605)

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Currently not on view