Question

Which of the following art forms were patronized by the Mughals?

• A. Installation
• B. Graphic Art
• C. Bookmaking
• D. Sculpture

Hint:

Think of Akbarnama and Hamzanama. Mughal workshops made illustrated books.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The Mughal emperors were great patrons of the arts. Their royal workshops (karkhanas) made illustrated books, miniature paintings, calligraphy, bookbinding and decorative objects. The question asks which listed form they supported.

Step 2: Key Approach:
Recall the Mughal court workshops. The most famous output was the illustrated manuscript, such as the Hamzanama, Akbarnama, Baburnama and Padshahnama. Making these books (writing, painting, gilding and binding) is bookmaking.

Step 3: Check option (1).
Installation art is a modern idea of the 1900s where a whole space is arranged as an artwork. It did not exist in the Mughal period. So (1) is wrong.

Step 4: Check option (2).
Graphic art in the sense of printmaking and commercial design grew with the printing press and later art schools. Mughal courts did not patronize it as an art form. So (2) is wrong.

Step 5: Check option (3).
Mughal emperors set up royal libraries and workshops where scribes, painters, gilders and binders made books. Bookmaking was a highly valued court art. So (3) is TRUE.

Step 6: Check option (4).
Free standing sculpture of figures was not favoured by the Mughals, because Islamic tradition discouraged the making of human images in the round. Their main building decoration was carved ornament and inlay, not figure sculpture. So (4) is wrong.

Final Answer:
The Mughals patronized bookmaking, so the correct option is (3).