Cleveland Museum of Art

A marbled picture of Rustam catching Rakhsh

Shafi

Date: c. 1650
Medium: Gum tempera and gold on paper
Culture: India, Bijapur, Deccan
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

This scene depicts the young hero Rustam catching a foal, Rakhsh (meaning “light”), who will be his faithful companion through many adventures. A prophet-like shepherd figure with a staff at the upper left predicts that Rustam will be the savior of Iran. At the top of the page a feline has caught its prey, while a hunter steps on its tail. This extraordinary painting has more applications of marbled colorant than any other known example. Even all the flowers and birds have been articulated through marbling in a feat of registration and control by a master of the technique. Even the flowers and insects used as filler in this composition were marbled.

View at Cleveland Museum of Art ↗

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.