An African Lyre Player (recto); Calligraphy (verso)

c. 1640–1660

Maker Unknown

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

An African Lyre Player (recto); Calligraphy (verso), c. 1640–1660. India, Deccan, 17th century. Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper (recto); ink on paper, six lines of Persian poetry (verso); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.289

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Maker Unknown
Classification: Painting
Formatted Medium: ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper (recto); ink on paper, six lines of Persian poetry (verso)
Medium: ink, opaque, watercolor, gold, paper, recto, lines, persian, poetry, verso
Inscribed: Inscription: verso: Persian verses in nasta‘liq script: It is springtime friends! Time to nurse the carnal wants Wine, a minstrel, a pretty face, a secluded corner in a garden What would I have done given my lack of means If my heart did not have a cure for searing longings: My heart derives from the bounteous Sea of Compassion Its self-abnegating other-worldliness, an ever-radiant night glowing gem.
Departments: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Accession Number: 2013.289
Credit Line: Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection
Exhibitions: The Cleveland Museum of Art (7/31/2016-10/23/2016); Art and Stories from Mughal India, cat. 60, p. 243.
Rights Statement: CC0