Nanha (painter)

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'), c. 1580 (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'), c. 1584 (Bankipur, Patna, Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library);
 * Illustrations, including portraits, in an edition of the Akbarnāma ('History of Akbar'), c. 1590 (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'), c. 1618 (London, Victoria & Albert Museum, MS. IS. 185–1984), includes a self-portrait (shown above right);
 * Portrait of Zulfiqar Khan in the Minto Album, c. 1635 (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.