The dream of Zulaykha, from the Amber Album
1670
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The dream of Zulaykha, from the Amber Album is a 1670 unspecified by Unknown, a Baroque work, depicting Mughal, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman in gold-embroidered robes sleeps on a terrace, her head resting on a pillow. Above her floats a glowing young man in a halo of light. This painting comes from a Persian poem that retells the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife as a mystical love story. The artist shows Zulaykha dreaming of Joseph, who appears like a vision. The soft light and rich fabrics make the scene feel both real and magical. To see more work like this, look up Mughal.
In Islamic texts, as in the Hebrew and Christian Old Testament traditions, Zulaykha is the unnamed wife of Potiphar, a wealthy Egyptian. This scene is from a popular Persian poem that recounts the story of Joseph and Zulaykha as a mystical romance, and describes her visionary dreams of a beautiful lover. In this painting we see the luxuriously dressed Zulaykha asleep on a terrace, reclining on ornate pillows as a vision of her love, Joseph, appears before her. He is illuminated by radiant light cast down by angels emerging from the dark night clouds.
Joseph, the man of Zulaykha’s dreams, is dressed as a Mughal prince.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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