Collection Online as of September 23, 2023

Illuminated Folio from a Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (c. 1213–1291)

c. 1475–1500; border: c. 1550

Part of a set. See all set records

style of Sultan Muhammad

(Iranian)

calligrapher

style of Sultan 'Ali al-Mashadi

(Iranian, 1430–1520)

Iran, Tabriz, Safavid period

(1501-1722)

Gum tempera, ink, gold, and silver on paper

Gift of William Kelly Simpson in memory of his wife Marilyn M. Simpson and her grandparents Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 2006.148

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Written in both prose and verse, the <em>Gulistan </em>was used for centuries as a primer for schoolchildren in greater Iran, India, and Turkey.

Description

In the border surrounding the Persian poetical text, deer and a lion coexist peacefully in a forest. This imagery may reference the rule of a righteous king.

The text is from the Gulistan, one of the most celebrated works of Persian literature, completed around 1258. Gulistan means “Rose Garden” in Persian; just as a rose garden is a collection of flowers, the contents are a collection of anecdotes. This page is from the section “On the Conduct of Kings.”

Sultan 'Ali al-Mashadi

Persian calligrapher, active ca. 1453-1519, died 1520

Provenance

?–2006

William Kelly Simpson [1928–2017], Katonah, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art

2006–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Canby, Sheila R. The Golden Age of Persian Art: 1501-1722. London: British Museum, 2008. Mentioned: pp. 58-59.

Exhibition history

Arts of Iran (Islamic art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 30, 2018-October 28, 2019). (2006.148.1 only),