Skip to Main Content

Artwork Page for Persian calligraphy framed by an ornamental border of flowers, birds, and deer, from the Late Shah Jahan Album

Details / Information for Persian calligraphy framed by an ornamental border of flowers, birds, and deer, from the Late Shah Jahan Album

Persian calligraphy framed by an ornamental border of flowers, birds, and deer, from the Late Shah Jahan Album

calligraphy: c. 1500–1540; border: c. 1630–40
This object has related works. See
(Persian, active in Herat, Afghanistan, died c. 1550)
Mughal India, court of Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–58)
Gum tempera, gold, and ink on paper
Overall: 36.8 x 25.2 cm (14 1/2 x 9 15/16 in.)
Gift of Herbert F. Leisy in memory of his wife, Helen Stamp Leisy 1977.207
Location: not on view
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Download, Print and Share

Print

Did You Know?

On the right, two white-throated kingfishers, a species native to Asia, sit on thin vines.

Description

About 100 years after the calligraphy was completed by a Persian master and embellished with gold and floral arabesques, the small page was mounted into an album for the Mughal emperor of India. Mughal artists filled the outer border with floral vines, blooming and budding with many varieties. Pairs of birds perch throughout; male and female deer relax, listening to the birdsong. The Indian artists chose to emphasize nature’s abundance and life-giving forces, whereas the Persian artists sought to achieve exquisite, gemlike refinement.

The central poem, by Ibn-i Yamin (Persian, 1286–1368), encourages the reader not to worry about unexpected calamities.
Persian calligraphy framed by an ornamental border of flowers, birds, and deer, from the Late Shah Jahan Album

Persian calligraphy framed by an ornamental border of flowers, birds, and deer, from the Late Shah Jahan Album

calligraphy: c. 1500–1540; border: c. 1630–40

Mir 'Ali Haravi

(Persian, active in Herat, Afghanistan, died c. 1550)
Mughal India, court of Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–58)

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

    Contact us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.