The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 16, 2024

Illuminated page (verso), from a Panj Ganj (Five Treasures) of Abd al- Rahman Jami (Persian, 1414–1492) with two Persian masnavis: Yusuf va Zulaykha (Joseph and Zulaykha) and Khirad-nama-i Iskandari (Alexander’s Book of Wisdom)

Illuminated page (verso), from a Panj Ganj (Five Treasures) of Abd al- Rahman Jami (Persian, 1414–1492) with two Persian masnavis: Yusuf va Zulaykha (Joseph and Zulaykha) and Khirad-nama-i Iskandari (Alexander’s Book of Wisdom)

1603–7
(Indian, active early 1600s)
(Iranian, 1430–1520)
Western Afghanistan, Herat (text); Mughal India (paintings)
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Text area: 17.8 x 9.5 cm (7 x 3 3/4 in.); Page: 31.6 x 20.4 cm (12 7/16 x 8 1/16 in.)
Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.315.1.b
Location: not on view

Description

This section of text from Jami’s poem of Joseph and Zulaykha, written diagonally in the margins, describes the beauties of Zulaykha’s house, in which she intends to seduce Joseph. It includes the following verses: Jeweled lamps on the walls were hung / And odorous herbs were beneath them flung. / She gathered together all things most fair, / And unrolled the carpet of pleasure there. / But amid the charms of the sumptuous hall / She longed only for Joseph, far dearer than all. / A heavenly palace is dark and dim / To a lover whose darling is far from him.

The longing of Zulaykha for Joseph metaphorically describes an imperfect devotee’s mystical love for God. With patience, forbearance, and virtuous actions, unification with the divine will eventually occur, even for the most flawed among us. On this page also begins the Khirad-nama-i Iskandari (Alexander’s Book of Wisdom), another of the five narrative poems that make up the Panj Ganj.
  • before 1923
    Georges Demotte [1877–1923], Paris, France, and New York, NY
    1940s
    French private collection
    October 18, 1994
    (Christie's, London, England, Islamic Art, Indian Miniatures, October 18, 1994 sale, lot 9)
    1994–2013
    Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Ralph Benkaim Collection
    2013-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Mace, Sonya Rhie. Mughal Paintings: Art and Stories: The Cleveland Museum of Art. London: D. Giles Limited, 2016. Reproduced: cat. no. 39; Mentioned: pp. 324-26.
  • Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).
  • {{cite web|title=Illuminated page (verso), from a Panj Ganj (Five Treasures) of Abd al- Rahman Jami (Persian, 1414–1492) with two Persian masnavis: Yusuf va Zulaykha (Joseph and Zulaykha) and Khirad-nama-i Iskandari (Alexander’s Book of Wisdom)|url=false|author=Mushfiq, Sultan 'Ali al-Mashadi|year=1603–7|access-date=16 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.315.1.b