Akbar: The Great Emperor of India 1542-1605

by Gian Carlo Calza

An amazing exhibition catalogue showing the splendors of one of the greatest rulers of the world, India’s Emperor Akbar (1542–1605). Akbar the Great is considered one of the most splendid sovereigns of humankind. Though he never learned to read or write, he was a great protector of poetry and literature, the builder of the grandiose capital Fathepur Sikri, the City of Victory, and the promoter of new movements in arts and crafts. The catalogue illustrates his deep art appreciation, detailing his court life with portraits and images of political activities, cultural events, and his military glory through arms and armor. Jewel boxes, turban ornaments, earrings, and necklaces are lavishly presented from the most important Indian, European, and American museums and collections. Although the author references the latest in art historical scholarship, this book is also aimed at readers with an affinity for Indian culture.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2013

Reviews

[Anubis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very nice book about Akbar and his time.

To start i have to say again that this is a very nice book. It has a lot of information, and it's quite hefty being around 270 pages.

There are also some interesting and at least to me original thoughts in the book; in the short chapter about Fatehpur Sikri, the author gives a very plausible theory of comparing the role of the new capital to the role of Versailles in the court of Luis XIV. The comparison makes a lot of sense from all aspects, it being a luxurious place where a lot of the nobility would congregate away from their centers of power and try to earn the Emperor's favor.

However, there are some issues with it, for which i cannot give it a 5 star rating;

1) The book starts with a couple of short chapters written by different authors; information there is often redundant, and somehow not too interesting in some places

2) The book is really expensive; if the book was cheaper it would be easier to rate it higher

3) The selection of the paintings and materials shown is a bit too one sided for my taste; for example, we have plenty of paintings of Akbar hunting, and none of a battle or a siege; i'd think the latter were more important and interesting; seeing Akbar hunt in 5 different ways is imho less interesting that seeing Akbar go to war and expand his Empire.

But overall this book is still a very good read, and you get a lot of pictures of various paintings and items from the Akbari era, with some nice descriptions and analysis.