Nanha

Camel fight, a copy by Nanha of a work by Bihzad. Muraqqa-e Gulshan (Gulistan Palace Library, Tehran). Nanha (Persian: نانها, Nānhā; ), also called Nanah or Nana, was an Indian painter and illuminator of the Mughal era, active during the reigns of emperors Akbar the Great, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

Selected works

Illustrations in a MS. of the Dārābz-nāma ('Story of Darab'), (London, BL, Or. MS. 4615); Illustrations in a MS. of the Razm-nāma ('Books of war'), 1582–6 (Jaipur, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, MS. AG. 1683–1850); Illustrations for a translation of the Mahābhārata commissioned by Akbar; Illustrations in a MS. of the Tārīkh-i Khāndān-i Tīmūriyya ('History of the house of Timur'), (Bankipur, Patna, Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library); Illustrations, including portraits, in the Victoria and Albert Akbarnama ('History of Akbar'), (London, Victoria & Albert Museum, MS. IS. 2–1896); One painting (attributed) in Akbar's copy of the Dīvān ('collected poems') of Anvari, 1588 (Cambridge, MA, Sackler Museum, MS. 1960.117.15) Four illustrations in a MS. of the Khamsa ('Five poems') of Nizami, 1595 (London, BL, Or. MS. 12208, fols 63v, 159r, and 305v) Signed work (Baltimore, MD, Walters Art Museum, MS. W.613, fol. 16v); Painting in a MS. of the Jahāngīr-nāma ('History of Jahangir'), (London, Victoria & Albert Museum, MS. IS. 185–1984), includes a self-portrait (shown above right); Portrait of Zulfiqar Khan in the Minto Album, (London, Victoria & Albert Museum); Portrait of Sayf Khan Barha (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 55.121.10.4v); Perils of the Hunt (Free Library of Philadelphia), painted atypically on silk, exemplifies Nanha's penchant for ravening lions.