Calligraphic exercises and verses of Hafiz (Persian, about 1325–1389) (verso)

1575–76

Mahmud ibn Ishaq al-Shahabi

Mahmud ibn Ishaq al-Shahabi (Persian, active mid- to late 1500s)

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Calligraphic exercises and verses of Hafiz (Persian, about 1325–1389) (verso), 1575–76. Mahmud ibn Ishaq al-Shahabi (Persian, active mid- to late 1500s). Ink and opaque watercolor with gold on paper, illuminated calligraphy (verso); page: 28 x 23.8 cm (11 x 9 3/8 in.). 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 2013.347.b The work was part of an album of paintings collected in India before 1811 by a Scottish politician who worked for the British East India Company.

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Mahmud ibn Ishaq al-Shahabi
Classification: Calligraphy
Formatted Medium: ink and opaque watercolor with gold on paper, illuminated calligraphy (verso)
Medium: ink, opaque, watercolor, gold, paper, illuminated, calligraphy, verso
Dimensions: Page: 28 x 23.8 cm (11 x 9 3/8 in.)
Inscribed: Inscription: In center, Persian exercises including on the second line down the “abjad” letters of numeration followed by calligrapher’s signature, in nasta‘liq script: Done by the hand of the sinful slave Mahmud ibn Ishaq al-Shahabi, may God forgive his sins, in the year 982 Inscription: Persian verses above from a ghazal of Hafiz (Persian, 1325–1389), in nasta‘liq script: For some days now the Daughter of the Vine has been lost to us,/ Gone away to tend to her own affairs. Be alert and prepared (as a search party)./ Her dress is of rubies and she wears a tiara of delicate glass./ She carries off wisdom and knowledge. Till you feel safe and secure from her, remain alert!/ Whoever will bring her bitter presence to me, I will give him sweet confectionaries (halwa) in exchange,/ And should she be hiding in disguise in the underworld, go down (and seek her out)/ The daughter of the dark-colored (vine) is quick-tempered, petulant, rose-colored and drunk./ Should you find her, take her towards Hafiz’s house. Inscription: Persian verses below, continued from above, in nasta‘liq script: I saw her last night, sauntering and tipsy./ A cup in hand, she was heading towards a gathering of the drunk/ I was so vexed that my poetic powers/ Became distraught and fled away from me/ She was harboring thoughts of Khwarazm and the shores of the Oxus/ With a thousand complaints she was leaving the Kingdom of Solomon/ Gone would be the person who knew the very soul of poetry as no one else./ I was witnessing this and my soul was seeping out of my body/ I protested and much lamented but to no avail/ For this was a matter for the Sultan’s compassion to tend.
Departments: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Accession Number: 2013.347.b
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
Rights Statement: CC0