The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Illuminated Folio from a Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (c. 1213–1291)

Illuminated Folio from a Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (c. 1213–1291)

c. 1475–1500; border: c. 1550
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Written in both prose and verse, the Gulistan was used for centuries as a primer for schoolchildren in greater Iran, India, and Turkey.

Description

In the border surrounding the Persian poetical text, deer and a lion coexist peacefully in a forest. This imagery may reference the rule of a righteous king.

The text is from the Gulistan, one of the most celebrated works of Persian literature, completed around 1258. Gulistan means “Rose Garden” in Persian; just as a rose garden is a collection of flowers, the contents are a collection of anecdotes. This page is from the section “On the Conduct of Kings.”
  • ?–2006
    William Kelly Simpson [1928–2017], Katonah, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2006–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Canby, Sheila R. The Golden Age of Persian Art: 1501-1722. London: British Museum, 2008. Mentioned: pp. 58-59.
  • {{cite web|title=Illuminated Folio from a Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (c. 1213–1291)|url=false|author=Sultan Muhammad, Sultan 'Ali al-Mashadi|year=c. 1475–1500; border: c. 1550|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2006.148