Portrait of a kneeling holy man, from the Prince Salim Album

c. 1556–60; border c. 1602

Mir Sayyid Ali

Mir Sayyid Ali (Persian, active in India, 1555–1580)

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Portrait of a kneeling holy man, from the Prince Salim Album, c. 1556–60; border c. 1602. Attributed to Mir Sayyid Ali (Persian, active in India, 1555–1580). Opaque watercolor with gold on paper, laid down on an album page with cream borders decorated with gold flowers and geometric motifs; 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 2013.295 In this sensitive portrayal of a charlatan holy man, the eyes are pale and empty.

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Mir Sayyid 'Ali
Classification: Painting
Formatted Medium: opaque watercolor with gold on paper, laid down on an album page with cream borders decorated with gold flowers and geometric motifs
Medium: opaque, watercolor, gold, paper, laid, down, album, page, cream, borders, decorated, flowers, geometric, motifs
Inscribed: Inscription: Calligraphy above and below from a Persian homiletic qasida (composite ode in verse) by Hakim Sana’i (Persian, c. 1087–1130), in nasta‘liq script: If it were greed that led you to acquire learning, then be afraid, For at night, a thief with a torch can take away the choicest goods!
Departments: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Accession Number: 2013.295
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: Art and Stories from Mughal India, On loan to the San Diego Museum of Art (2005)<br>The Cleveland Museum of Art (7/31/2016-10/23/2016) Art and Stories from Mughal India, cat. 2, p. 161.
Rights Statement: CC0