1564
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Page from the Panj Ganj (Five Treasures) of Abd al-Rahman Jami (Persian, 1414–1492), with two Persian masnavis (narrative poems): Yusuf va Zulaykha (Joseph and Zulaykha) and Subhat al-abrar (Rosary of the Righteous) is a 1564 unspecified by Mushfiq, a Mughal Painting work, depicting Mughal, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a page of Persian poetry framed by gold borders and tiny painted scenes. The words curve around the edges, telling a story of Joseph and his brothers. This book was made in two places, decades apart. The words were written in Herat (now Afghanistan) around 1500, then sent to India where Mushfiq added the paintings and gold work sixty years later. It’s like a time capsule—two cultures, two moments, one page. For more pages like this, look up northern India, Mughal, early 17th century, Indian art.
The recto of this album page contains two different texts, one written diagonally in the border and the other in the two central columns. The section of poetry in the border describes an episode from Joseph’s childhood in which his older brothers suggest to Jacob, their father, that they take Joseph into the countryside so that the boy can learn the area, although they actually plan to kill him. The poem in the central columns advises the reader to smile often, as a smile is sweeter and more pleasing than sugar. This page is from a prized manuscript owned by one of the most respected…
The bearded goat in a rocky landscape evokes what Joseph might see on his outing.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Mushfiq was a sub-imperial Mughal painter who worked in the atelier of Abd-ur-Rahim Khan-i-Khanan (also called Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana), commander-in-chief of the Mughal army in the late 16th/early 17th century.
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