1500s
Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper
Gift of Lori H. Luciano in memory of her parents, Nicholas H. and Rhea A. Luciano 2021.237
This scene is from the Sharaf-nameh, the poetical version of the life of Alexander by the 12th-century Persian poet Niẓāmī Ganjavī.
This rare scene from the life of Alexander depicts a poor and pious woman falling into a desperate situation and giving birth to a son in some desolate place. Philip, the Macedonian ruler, is on a hunt and passes the ruin. Seeing the deceased woman with a hungry baby by her side, the King orders his followers to tend to the burial of the woman and brings up the orphan making him his crown prince.
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