A Nobleman Reading
Unknown Artist
ca. 1750–75
Medium
Opaque watercolor on paper
Dimensions
Painting: H. 8 11/16 in. (22 cm) W. 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm) Frame: H. 16 3/4 in. (42.5 cm) W.. 13 3/4 in. (34.9 cm)
Classification
Codices
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Friends of Islamic Art Gifts, 2009
Accession Number
2009.319a, b
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created around 1750–75, *A Nobleman Reading* a delicate example of Islamic manuscript painting rendered in opaque watercolor on paper. Measuring just over eight inches tall, this intimate work was likely created as a single album leaf or illustration for a codex, a format prized in Persian, Mughal, and Ottoman artistic traditions. The unknown artist captures a moment of quiet concentration, with the nobleman shown in profile, absorbed in his book—a subject that reflects the deep cultural reverence for literacy and learning in Islamic societies of the period. The painting’s modest scale and re...