Collection Online as of November 29, 2023
Illuminated Folio from a Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (c. 1213–1291)
about 1475–1500; border: about 1550
Part of a set. See all set records
Sultan 'Ali al-Mashadi
(Iranian, 1430–1520)
Afghanistan, Herat, Timurid period
(1370–1501)
Gum tempera, ink, gold, and silver on paper
Overall: 30 x 19 cm (11 13/16 x 7 1/2 in.); Text area: 16.1 x 9.6 cm (6 5/16 x 3 3/4 in.)
Gift of William Kelly Simpson in memory of his wife Marilyn M. Simpson and her grandparents Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 2006.148.b
Location
242B Indian Painting
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.”