Buqalamun Bird from the Baburnama — Late 16th Century Mughal Album Art

A jewel-like study of a bird perched on a flowering branch, this painting graced the pages of the Baburnama, the celebrated memoirs of Emperor Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty. Created during Akbar's reign in the late 16th century, the folio depicts a buqalamun—a Persian term meaning 'many-colored'—applied to birds with iridescent, shifting plumage. The artist renders the creature with exquisite naturalism: blues ripple across its head and wings, warm earth tones blend into cinnamon and grey, while touches of coral-red animate the tail. The ornate floral borders, ablaze with irises, poppies, and tulips on a golden ground, exemplify the Mughal fascination with nature's splendor.

Babur himself was an ardent observer of the natural world, filling his memoirs with detailed descriptions of Hindustan's flora and fauna. This painting embodies that curiosity—each feather meticulously observed, each petal precisely rendered. The verso of this folio bears a portrait of the revered Sufi saint Shaikh Mu'in al-Din Chishti, whose tomb in Ajmer remains a pilgrimage site to this day. Together, the sacred and the natural speak to the Mughal vision of a world charged with divine beauty.

This painting is part of Aurah Living's restored Mughal collection — digitally cleaned and color-corrected from archival sources, with the folio's painted inset, decorative hashiya, and original paper margins preserved.

Premium matte paper print, framed in solid wood with a beveled cream mat. Three frame finishes: Black, Red Oak, White. Free shipping in the continental United States.