Mughal Miniature

The Mughal painting tradition was established by Emperor Humayun, who brought Persian masters to his court in the 1550s. Under Akbar, a large imperial atelier was established in Agra, producing illustrated manuscripts of Persian epics, Indian classics, and historical chronicles.

The tradition reached its peak under Jahangir, whose court produced some of the finest natural history illustrations ever created — individual animals rendered with the precision of scientific illustration.

After the decline of the Mughal empire, the tradition dispersed to provincial courts. Today, Mughal Miniature is practised primarily in Agra, Delhi, and Lucknow.

Mughal Miniature paintings are created on wasli — laminated handmade paper burnished to a smooth surface. Pigments ground to extreme fineness are applied with brushes of squirrel hair, sometimes just one or two strands.

The painting process involves multiple layers of colour, each dried and burnished before the next is applied. Gold is used for decorative borders. A completed painting can contain thousands of individual brushstrokes invisible to the naked eye.