Zulaykha in her palace and as an elderly woman with Joseph (recto), from a Panj Ganj (Five Treasures) of Abd al- Rahman Jami (Persian, 1414–1492)
Medium
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
image: 15.5 × 7 cm · page: 31.6 × 20.4 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
2013.315.1.a
Tags
About this artwork
The golden pot of white narcissus flowers at the bottom center of the painting signals that Zulaykha, leaning on her staff to the left, will imminently have her youth and beauty restored. In this Persian retelling of the Old Testament account from the Bible, Zulaykha lusted after Joseph, even though she was already married to Potiphar. Joseph, with the golden halo, resisted her advances until she became a widow and retained his youth, because of his extreme virtue. Above, Zulaykha as a young wom...