The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Persian Quatrains (Rubayi) and Calligraphic Exercises (recto)

Persian Quatrains (Rubayi) and Calligraphic Exercises (recto)

c. 1509–59
(Iranian, d. after 1550)
Afghanistan, Herat, Safavid period (1501–1722)
ink, gold, and opaque watercolor on paper
Sheet: 27.4 x 20 cm (10 13/16 x 7 7/8 in.); Text area: 18.7 x 10.9 cm (7 3/8 x 4 5/16 in.)
Gift of Mrs. Mehmed A. Simsar in memory of Dr. Mehmed A. Simsar 1983.1115.a
Location: not on view

Description

This page contains two quatrains—poems made up of four lines. The diagonally written text in the center of the page is a poem addressed to a ruler, expressing hope for his success and the downfall of his enemies. The second poem is split between the horizontal panels at the top and bottom of the page. This quatrain praises the beauty of the writer’s beloved, saying that “her moonlike face can steal away a hundred besotted hearts.” At the right are calligraphic exercises displaying letters of the alphabet and the virtuoso skill of the calligrapher Sultan Muhammad Khandan, who signed the page in the triangle at the lower left of the inner text block.
  • ?-1983
    Mrs. Mehmed A. [Louise Dean] Simsar [1900–1986], Washington, DC, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1983-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Arts of Iran (Islamic art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 30, 2018-October 28, 2019).
  • {{cite web|title=Persian Quatrains (Rubayi) and Calligraphic Exercises (recto)|url=false|author=Sultan Muhammad Khandan|year=c. 1509–59|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1983.1115.a