Hamida Banu Begum’s Portraits of Power5.12.2025 {en}

Join the Freer Research Center at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art on Tuesday, December 9, 12–12:40 pm EST for the online program Sneak Peek | Picture Perfect: Hamida Banu Begum’s Portraits of Power.

In an empire where visual representation meant power, Hamida Banu Begum (ca. 1527–1604) achieved something remarkable—her image appears in at least nine surviving Mughal court paintings from her lifetime. As wife of Emperor Humayun (r. 1530–56 with interruptions) and mother of his successor Akbar (r. 1556–1605), she played a prominent role in the political and cultural landscape of the subcontinent.

In this online talk, Professor Mika Natif examines Hamida Banu’s visual representations as records of her projected status and the empire’s political dynamics. Analyzing her portraits alongside primary sources reveals Hamida Banu’s role as co-sovereign—a Padishah begum—to her son Akbar. Yet, the paintings appear only in illustrated court chronicles and albums, restricting their viewing to limited and selected audiences. This raises questions about patronage and Hamida Banu’s cultural agency. The research for this talk comes from Natif’s current book project dedicated to the portraits and patronage of Hamida Banu.

This program is part of the monthly lunchtime series Sneak Peek, where staff members and outside scholars share personal perspectives and new research related to the collections of the National Museum of Asian Art.

Mika Natif is Associate Professor of Art History at The George Washington University, specializing in Islamic art and cultural exchanges between Muslim societies and Europe. Her research focuses on Islamic painting and illustrated manuscripts from Mughal India, Central Asia, and Iran. She authored Mughal Occidentalism (2018) and co-edited Eros and Sexuality in Islamic Art (2013). Her current work explores women’s portraiture, patronage, and artists in Mughal India, including a forthcoming monograph on Hamida Banu Begum, Emperor Akbar’s mother. Natif has held fellowships from MIT, Harvard, the Mellon Foundation, Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, and Dumbarton Oaks.

Further information: https://asia.si.edu/whats-on/events/search/event:193388058/.

Source: Online Lecture, 12/9 – Hamida Banu Begum’s Portraits of Power – National Museum of Asian Art, H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 US.