Cleveland Museum of Art
Court Lady Pouring Wine (recto); Calligraphy of Lyrical Quatrains (verso)
- Date
- c. 1760; borders mid-1700s
- Medium
- Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
- Culture
- Mughal India, probably Lucknow
- Department
- Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
The artist has depicted a glass or crystal duck-headed decanter adorned with a gilded grapevine motif, signaling the contents. The red wine flows from the duck’s mouth into a tiny cup. Such bird-shaped wine vessels are vestiges of the blood sacrifices once part of ancient Persian court rituals. On the verso, floral sprigs illuminate the central calligraphic work, and paired verses have been written in smaller script all around the border. On this page, all the verses are about the beauty of—and longing for—the beloved. The bird-headed decanter evokes blood rites of kingship in pre-Islamic Iran.
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