ABD-US-SAMAD, KHWAJA

(b. Shiraz, Iran; sixteenth century), Persian painter who was one of the first members of the imperial atelier in the court of Mughal emperor Akbar in India, and is credited with having played an important role in founding the Mughal school of painting.

Abd-us-Samad had already gained a reputation as a calligrapher as well as a painter when he met the Mughal emperor Humayun, who was in exile in Iran. At Humayun's invitation, Abd-us-Samad followed him to India in 1548, first to Kabul and later to Delhi. He instructed both Humayun and his young son, Akbar, in the art of drawing. Dasvant and Basawan, two of his students, became renowned Mughal painters. Abd-us-Samad received many honours from Akbar. In 1576, he was appointed master of the mint, and in 1584, at the end of his career, he was made diwan (revenue commissioner) of Multan.

Among Abd-us-Samad's greatest achievements was the supervision, of a large part of the illustrations of the Dastan-e Amir Hamzeh (Stories of Amir Hamzeh), a series of about 1,400 paintings, all of unusually large size. As none of the paintings are signed, it is uncertain whether he painted any of them himself. Among the book illustrations bearing his signature is one in the Royal Library in the Golestan Palace, Tehran, depicting Akbar presenting a book illustration to his father, Humayun. Although the work follows the Persian school of painting in many details, its realistic presentation of court life has traces of the Indian style that was to develop later. A more Indianized version of Abd-us-Samad's painting style is found in an illustrated manuscript of the Khamseh of Nezami dated 1595, now part of the collection of the British Museum.