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Illuminated folio (recto) from a Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (c. 1213–1291)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Silver and gold paints were used against an indigo blue background to create a fantastic frame for the text of the Gulistan . Meaning “rose bush” in Persian, this text is a collection of anecdotes in both verse and prose. Here, a winged lion chases a winged deer from the upper margins to the lower, where it rends the mythical deer and sends a toothy fox running.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineIlluminated folio (recto) from a Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (c. 1213–1291), calligraphy: c. 1475–1500; border: c. 1550. Calligraphy by Sultan 'Ali al-Mashadi (Iranian, 1430–1520). Gum tempera, ink, gold, and silver on paper; overall: 30 x 19 cm (11 13/16 x 7 1/2 in.); text area: 16.3 x 9.8 cm (6 7/16 x 3 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of William Kelly Simpson in memory of his wife Marilyn M. Simpson and her grandparents Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller Jr., 2006.147.a
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