The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 22, 2025

Rooster

c. 1620

India, Mughal, 17th century

Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Image: 18.3 x 12.1 cm (7 3/16 x 4 3/4 in.); Overall: 37.3 x 25.4 cm (14 11/16 x 10 in.)
Gift of Herbert F. Leisy 1944.501
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This page belonged to the owner of Cleveland’s Leisy Brewing Company, est. 1873.

Description

This bird, with its fierce expression, sharp beak, and spurred feet, may have been a champion in the cockfighting ring. The Mughal emperor Jahangir requested that his royal court artists paint portraits of remarkable birds and animals with as much realism as possible. He felt that such paintings enhanced feelings of amazement beyond hearing or reading an account.
  • Kevorkian
  • Islamic Art: Selected Examples from the Loan Exhibition of Islamic Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1944. Reproduced: p. 26 archive.org
    Hollis, Howard. “An Imperial Rooster.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 32, no. 9 (November 1945): 171–173. Mentioned: pp. 171–173 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 780 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 237 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 237 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 305 archive.org
    Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 23
  • Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (August 13, 2003-February 18, 2004).
    The Bird in Art. Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA (organizer) (June 6-August 12, 1956).
    Islamic Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 3, 1944-February 2, 1945).
  • {{cite web|title=Rooster|url=false|author=|year=c. 1620|access-date=22 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1944.501