The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

An Illuminated Folio from the Royal Manuscript of the Farhang-i Jahangiri (verso)

1607–8

Mughal India, court of Jahangir

(1605–1627)
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Page: 33.7 x 21.9 cm (13 1/4 x 8 5/8 in.); Text field: 21.2 x 11 cm (8 3/8 x 4 5/16 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 2013.318.b
Location: Not on view

Description

Farhang-i Jahāngīrī, one of the most complete and authoritative dictionaries of the Persian language, was compiled by Mir Jamal al-Din Husayn Inju. It took him 12 years to compile over 9,000 words with definitions and examples from verses by Persian poets. He was born in Shiraz, Iran, but lived most of his life in Agra, India, so the dictionary was named honor of the Mughal emperor Jahangir, who reigned from 1605 to 1627.
  • c. 1950-July 1968
    (Charles Dikran Kelekian [1910–1992], New York, NY, sold to Ralph Benkaim)
    July 1968-2013
    Ralph Benkaim [1914-2001] and Catherine Glynn Benkaim [b. 1946], Beverly Hills, CA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2013-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Mace, Sonya Rhie, Mohsen Ashtiany, Catherine Glynn, Pedro Moura Carvalho, Marcus Fraser, and Ruby Lal. Mughal Paintings: Art and Stories: the Cleveland Museum of Art. London: D Giles Limited, 2016. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 43, p. 219
  • {{cite web|title=An Illuminated Folio from the Royal Manuscript of the Farhang-i Jahangiri (verso)|url=false|author=|year=1607–8|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.318.b