Stories and paintings from Moghul India
- Legends of Arabia and Persia -
Presented by Stephen Novy
In 1558 the great and enlightened Moghul emperor Akbar set up in Delhi a glorious project:- to illustrate, with the very best Persian and Indian artists - and to write down in Persian - the epic and mostly mythical adventures of Amir Hamza ,which had long been told in the Iranian oral tradition. The result was a wonder of that age, or of any age: a huge set of beautifully coloured, dramatic, vibrant illustrations, each with accompanying text, recording:
 | battles, heroics, intrigues, trickery, magic, romances .
. . |
| mighty warriors, champions, princes, princesses, spies |
| monsters, fairies, giants, djinns and demons |
| servants, cooks, grooms, fishermen and everyday life. |
Over a period of 15 years, at huge expense, 1400 illustrations, with text, were produced. Only 200 survive. 94 were exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from March to June 2003, where storytellers were brought in to bring these ancient tales to life once more.
Stephen Novy
was one of those storytellers, and now, having mastered the whole of the
surviving texts, he brings these enchanting stories, with a dozen of the
paintings, to a wider audience through a unique
presentation.
