A woman mistakes a cow for the Angel of Death, from a Lights of Canopus (Anwar-i Suhaili) of Kashifi (Iranian, d. 1504)
1610
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
A sick girl lies in bed while her mother kneels beside her, pointing up. A cow with a pot stuck on its head stumbles into the courtyard. The mother thinks the cow is the Angel of Death. This painting comes from a book of stories meant to teach moral lessons. The artist shows the moment the mother offers her own life to save her daughter. The cow’s silly mistake makes the scene feel both strange and real. To see more paintings like this, look up Mughal India, court of Jahangir (1605–1627).
