The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
Yusuf and Zulaykha meeting
c. 1764
Overall: 40.5 x 28 cm (15 15/16 x 11 in.); Average: 21.5 x 15 cm (8 7/16 x 5 7/8 in.)
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
Joseph wears a Central Asian fur-trimmed hat and coat and holds Indian paan.Description
Joseph, called Yusuf in Arabic and Persian sources, had been thrown into a well by his jealous older brothers. Although his eldest brother intended to return and rescue him, Joseph was taken by a caravan and brought to Egypt to be sold as a slave. When Zulaykha saw Joseph in the market, she recognized him as the lover she had seen in her dreams since childhood and so purchased him for herself. When read as a religious allegory, Zulaykha’s passionate desire for Joseph is interpreted as the yearning of the soul to be joined with the perfect beauty of God.- Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).India's Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 2, 1949-January 22, 1950).
- {{cite web|title=Yusuf and Zulaykha meeting|url=false|author=|year=c. 1764|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1939.164