Calligraphy framed by an ornamental border with poppies and pairs of birds, from the Late Shah Jahan Album (verso)
Unknown Artist
c. 1653
Medium
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
37.8 × 27.3 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alton W. Whitehouse
Accession Number
1987.153.b
About this artwork
Treated as a jewel set in gold and floral arabesques, this work is an example of how Mughal patrons held the art of calligraphy in higher esteem than figural painting. This work is unsigned, so the calligrapher remains unknown, but the lines are excerpts from a didactic ode composed by Amir Khusrau (1253–1325) of Delhi, known as the "Parrot of India," one of the most accomplished authors of the Persian language in India. The text itself reads: "Anyone, whether noble or ignoble, who covets wealth...