In a miniature of Humayun and Akbar, time crumples to depict an entire world of learning

“If that sultan of the universe gives me Mir the painter,” said Humayun to Shah Tahmasp, “I shall send him from Hindustan one thousand tumans as a present.”

It was the summer of 1544. Driven out of his kingdom by Sher Shah Suri and betrayed by his own brothers, Humayun had taken one last gamble with fate and had come to the court of the Shah of Iran. He was a supplicant here, quietly enduring slights and affronts while hoping for military aid that would allow him to win back his kingdom.

But even as he was praying for Shah Tahmasp’s generosity to reclaim the throne of Hindustan, Humayun was promising to give the Shah the equivalent of 30 kg of gold – once he had money, which the Shah’s help would ensure – for the favour of being allowed to take one of the Shah’s best painters with him. (Any resemblance to contemporary dealings between public sector banks and captains of industry is entirely co-incidental).

For the art-besotted, book-loving Humayun, the splendours of the Persian court must have been a revelation, and the gorgeous illustrated manuscripts he saw there sparked a desire for things other than kingdoms and thrones.

A love of books and a propensity for…

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