Depicting Diplomacy

Though Babur describes receptions at Kabul and Delhi, these two illustrations are generalized palace scenes. Farrukh Beg likely created both paintings for another project and altered them slightly to fit the new manuscript. Trained in Iran, Farrukh Beg adapted to new tastes in India. In the first painting, most figures have round, idealized faces in the Persian mode, but some, like the black-robed elder courtier to Babur’s left, display the softly modeled, expressive faces favored at Akbar’s court. The flat panels of decoration and minutely patterned surfaces are typical of Persian painting. The roughly painted melons at the foot of Babur’s throne may have been added by another artist, perhaps as a reference to the emperor’s favorite fruit.

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