Babur Supervising the Laying Out of the Garden of Fidelity
Opaque watercolour and gold on paper
India - ca.1590
Artists: Bishndas and Nanha

This painting is the right half of a double-page composition (the left-hand page is Museum no. IM.276A-1913) depicting the Mughal emperor Babur (1483–1530) superintending the laying-out of the Garden of Fidelity at Kabul in the northern reaches of the Mughal empire (now in Afghanistan). Originally a Timurid prince in central Asia, Babur seized Kabul in 1504 and used it as a base for campaigns into Hindustan, where he founded the Mughal dynasty. The Garden of Fidelity (Bagh-e Vafa) was the first of many gardens he created. Situated to the south of Kabul, it was divided into quarters, fringed with ORANGE and pomegranate trees and surrounded by a wall. The image shows the red sandstone wall and gateway of the garden, outside which the emperor’s horse and retinue are waiting.

Babur’s grandson, Akbar, had at least five copies of his grandfather’s memoirs, the Baburnama, made by the royal studios, and he selected this image to illustrate his own copy.

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