Page from the Panj Ganj (Five Treasures) of Abd al-Rahman Jami (Persian, 1414–1492), with two Persian masnavis (narrative poems): Yusuf va Zulaykha (Joseph and Zulaykha) and Subhat al-abrar (Rosary of the Righteous)
Text c. 1500–1520; painting, borders, and illuminations added 1603–7 Text copied by Sultan-Ali Mashhadi (Persian, active early 1500s) for Badi al-Zaman Mirza, ruler of Herat Painted insets and borders by Mushfiq (Indian, active 1580s–early 1600s) Text copied in Herat Painting, borders, and illuminations made in the Deccan for Mughal minister Abd al-Rahim the Khan Khanan
Medium
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
30.2 × 18.1 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection
Accession Number
2013.315.2
Tags
About this artwork
The recto of this album page contains two different texts, one written diagonally in the border and the other in the two central columns. The section of poetry in the border describes an episode from Joseph’s childhood in which his older brothers suggest to Jacob, their father, that they take Joseph into the countryside so that the boy can learn the area, although they actually plan to kill him. The poem in the central columns advises the reader to smile often, as a smile is sweeter and more ple...