The Mughal emperor Babur hunting Rhinoceros near Peshawar. Painting from the Baburnama,
Date: pre 1530

Akbar leads Mughal Army
16th c

Battle with the Hazars, from the Baburnama

The Metropolitan Museum of Art – “Akbar Hunting”,
Folio from an Akbarnama (History of Akbar)

Rustam Captures the Horse Rakhsh”, Folio from Akbar’s  Shahnama (Book of Kings)

By Abu’l Qasim Firdausi

A portrait of Emperor Akbar, North India, 19th century
Gouache with gold on paper, illuminated cartouche above with inscription shabihi mubarak Jalal al-Din Muhammad Akbar Shah khalad Allah mulkahu and spurious date of 1106 AH / 1694 AD, borders of scrolling foliate tendrils in gold and blue, reverse with a page of nasta`liq calligraphy signed by Ijaz Ruqmhan, borders with bold foliate motifs in blue and gold

Jahangir
Freer and Sackler

Shah Jahan riding a stallion
By Payag and Mir Ali
1628

AN EQUESTRIAN PORTRAIT OF EMPEROR SHAH JAHAN
MUGHAL INDIA, EARLY 19TH CENTURY
Gouache on paper heightened with gold, the Emperor riding a dapple gray horse and holding a falcon, with gold-speckled carboard margins, framed and glazed
Miniature 8 7/8 x 6½in.
(Christie’s)

portrait of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb mounted on a horse, and ready for battle, was originally produced in 1660-70. Aurangzeb reigned from 1658–1707.
This image is taken from Johnson Album 3, 4. As featured in the British Library exhibition, Mughal India

Dara Shikoh’s horse
By
Manohar

Ayat ul Kursi
Bijapur
1600

Unknown Artist
Title
Equestrian Portrait of a Mughal Prince on a Brown Horse
Harvard Art Museum

Ali Vardi Khan Hawking
Mughal horseman rides his horse confidently through the green countryside, raising his right arm backwards to let loose the falcon sitting on his wrist, Mughal, c. 1660.
Johnson Album 67, 2. As featured in the British Library exhibition, Mughal India:

Rama riding a horse
Rahugarh Gwalior 18th c

A horse with elaborate saddle and harness being led by a groom. On paper
18th c
British Museum

Equestrian portrait of Raja Chandu Lal (1766–1845),
Prime Minister of the Nizam of Hyderabad (1809–1843), with attendant carrying opened umbrella. Hyderabad, circa 1860-80.
Opaque watercolour with gold on wasli. 25 x 20cm (max)
Provenance: private Boston USA collection acquired before mid-1970s

The Horse Merchants of Guler
By Nainsukh
Now in the V&A

Equestrian portrait: Thakur Karan Singh Ji. Jodhpur, circa 1820.
Opaque watercolour with silver and gold on wasli.
29.8 x 21.3cm

Chand Bibi Hawking- Deccan – 28thnc

This is a traditional representation of Chand Bibi, the late sixteenth-century Queen of Ahmadnagar who defended her city against the Mughals

Horse and Groom
Artist:Attributed to Farrukh Husain
1600-1610
Deccan, Bijapur

Muraqqa e Golshan
Groom & Horse
17th c

Persian horses
16th c
British Museum

1725
Rajput
Prince on a Horse

18th c
Prince and Princess on horseback

STALLION
MARWAR, NORTH INDIA, SECOND HALF 18TH CENTURY
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, facing left, its mane plaited and with yellow sashes, with elaborate saddle and saddle cloth, each with intricate scrolling patterns, its lower body painted orange and with recurring floral buds
Christie’s

Elephants were an important part of Mughal life and were used in war, entertainment ( elephant fights, shikar), punishment( crushing to death) and travelling or simply for pomp and show.
In Akbarnama Abul Fazl writes
” When India was made illustrious by his blessed advent he gave special attention to elephants, which are wonderful animals both in form and in ways. If in respect of size I liken them to a mountain in order to describe them to those who have not seen them, I do not succeed in my attempt, for where is account taken of their beauty of form, and where is their swiftness? Or if I liken their speed and fury to the wind, how is their wrath depicted at the time of their o’erthrowing the firm-footed on the field of battle? If I compare them for foresight, intelligence, and sagacity to the horse, the real thing is not said. ”
Great Mogul And His Court Returning From The Great Mosque At Delhi India — Oil Painting by American Artist Edwin Lord Weeks

#Emperor Akbar r. 1556-1605 riding a mast (untamed/rogue) elephant from Akbarnama. Abul Fazl writes “the first elephant which H.M. the Shāhinshāh rode was called Dilsankār. The first mast elephant that H.M. the Shāhinshāh rode was called Damūdar, which H.M. had presented to Bairām Khãn. When H.M. the Shāhinshah was going from Delhi to Salīmgarha, which was on the bank of the Jumna, that elephant was tied under a tree by the roadside. As it possessed the virtue of steadiness the driver was, even in the height of its mast condition, taking cooked rice in his hand and putting it into the elephant’s mouth. H.M. was pleased with the good behaviour of the elephant, and went up to it, and getting upon a female elephant which they had tied by its side, mounted upon the neck of Damūdar. The first mast elephant which H.M. the Shāhin­shāh mounted upon, and engaged in battle with another mast elephant, was called Jhalpa. This was during the siege of Mānkot. After battle had been waged between these two monsters for a long time the contest ended, like a game of chess,* in a draw, and they were separated. At that auspicious time H.M’s age had reached fourteen years. After this, the power of H.M. in riding mast elephants rose to such a pitch that that victory-supported one would unhesitatingly mount on a mast elephant which experienced drivers despairingly declined to ride (lit. placed the back of the hand on the ground of helplessness). And he would lead it against mast elephants, and without exaggeration he rode more than a hundred times on mast elephants which had killed their drivers and were men-slayers, and were capable of smiting a city or perturbing an army, and engaged them in fighting. May Almighty God preserve this eternally-aided one for cycles and epochs on the throne of success and of fulfilment of the desires of mortals!”

Akbar’s Adventure with the Elephant Hawa’i in 1561
by Basawan and Chetar Munti (1590-95)A Mughal Royal Lady travelling on an Elephant

#elephant Khushi Khan 1660

The War Elephants Citranand and Udiya Collide in Battle-Akbarnama, 1567.
1573-Akbar receiving his sons at Fatehpur-Akbarnama

Portrait of an #Elephant with 2 distinguished riders Sultan Abdullah Qutub Shah & his PrimeMinister

By Bichitr. Met. Museum of Art.
This elephant was called Gajraj as is mentioned in Jahangir’s own handwriting given in painting

This #elephant was probably in the imperial use and was commissioned by #Shahjahan c.1640

1602 AD Prince Salim (Emperor Jahangir) returns on an elephant from a hunt

“Prince Aurangzeb riding against the maddened War elephant Sudhakar in the year 1633.”

Mawla baksh the royal elephant in the war of 1857, favourite of Bahadur Shah

Elephant Combat. Hada master. 1610-20.

Mahabir Deb1630 noted painter in ShahJahan’s reign , DaraShikoh riding an elephant

This Emperor Akbar on fierce Hawa,pursuing equally ferocious Ran Bagha,across a bridge of boats over Jumna,1586-89 V&A museum

On this #elephant is riding #Akbar the Great, ‘nim qalam’, minimalist wash #gold c1600 unknown artist, #Lucknow V&A

This is Akbar II with his son Prince Saleem in a Company Painting c1821 now at V&A

This #elephant though from the Mughal stables,probably a working beast. c.18th Murshidabad now at V&A

Many #Mughal ladies were accomplished artists, Khursheed Banu was one of them. She painted this in c.1600

This #Elephant is without the usual trappings of the imperial,though must be 4 royal Mughal’s use c.1650

This #Elephant was probably commissioned by Shahjahan in c.1650-60 most probably by Chand at Ashmolean Museum

Nainsukh: Muhammad Shah’s Elephant Fight

Nainsukh : The elephant fight close up

shikarMughal infantry and Mahut‘s in action.An elephant in war

A ceremonial procession On the occasion of Eid : Two elephants carrying the fish and sun insignia of Mughal sovereigntya green standard with a gold sun

and finally the most gruesome form of the elephant in Mughal era

I am grateful for the tweets on this subject by @Sree_tweets @ambrin_hayat @DalrympleWill @WhiteMughalsFan @razvinama and @jamaljafri