Cleveland Museum of Art

Page 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 Subhat al-abrar (Rosary of the Righteous) (verso)

Mushfiq

Date

1520–1607

Medium

Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper

Culture

Northern India, Mughal, early 17th century

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This page is from a prized manuscript owned by one of the most respected statesmen of the imperial Mughal court, Abd al-Rahim. He served as the Khan Khanan, or vizier, the trusted minister under both Akbar and Jahangir. Abd al-Rahim was an avid book collector and patron of the arts. He acquired this book of five extended narrative poems, which included the story told in rhyme of the romance between Joseph and the Egyptian lady Zulaykha, about 80 years after its completion. The book’s illumination had not been finished, so Abd al-Rahim commissioned the exuberant decor of the borders and insets along with fullpage paintings that illustrate key scenes in the text.

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