"Dancing Dervishes", Folio from a Gulistan of Sa'di
17th century
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions
H. 10 7/16 in. (26.5 cm) W. 6 1/16 in. (15.4 cm)
Classification
Codices
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, The Seley Foundation Inc. Gift and The Friends of the Department of Islamic Art Fund, 1978
Accession Number
1978.84
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the mesmerizing world of 17th-century Persian manuscript art with this exquisite folio from *Gulistan* (Rose Garden), the beloved 13th-century masterpiece by the poet Sa'di. Titled "Dancing Dervishes," page captures men in ecstatic motion, evoking the spiritual whirl of Sufi dervishes—a hallmark of Islamic mysticism where rhythmic dance symbolizes union with the divine. Produced during the Safavid era, when Iran flourished as a center of literary and artistic patronage, the folio reflects how timeless texts like Sa'di's moral tales and poetry were vividly reimagined through illustrat...