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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1960.117.173
People
Ascribed to Mahesh, Indian
Title
It's the Day for the Garden (painting, recto; text, verso), folio 173 from a manuscript of the Divan (Collection of Works) of Anvari
Classification
Manuscripts
Work Type
manuscript folio
Date
1588
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, Pakistan, Punjab, Lahore
Period
Mughal period
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/169774

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions
folio: 13.97 x 7.62 cm (5 1/2 x 3 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Louis J. Cartier collection. John Goelet, New York, NY, (by 1960), gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1960.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of John Goelet
Accession Year
1960
Object Number
1960.117.173
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
The recto side of the folio features a painting depicting two figures tending to a garden. At the center of the painting is a large square fountain from which three water channels issue. Two text blocks containing Persian text written in nasta’liq script and black ink are at the top and bottom of the painting.
The verso side of the folio features two columns of Persian text written in black ink and nasta’liq script.
The folio belongs to an illustrated copy of the Divan of Anvari commissioned by the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) in 1588 and in Lahore. The poet Anvari (1126-1189) is considered one of the greatest figures in Persian literature. His panegyric in honor of the Seljuq sultan, Ahmad Sanjar (r. 1118-1157) earned him royal favor and the patronage of two of Sanjar’s successors. Anvari’s poems were collected in a Divan, which contains eulogies, satire, panegyrics, and other forms of poetry and prose.

Publication History

  • Michele de Angelis and Thomas W. Lentz, Architecture in Islamic Painting: Permanent and Impermanent Worlds, brochure, Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, Mass, 1982)
  • Michael Brand and Glenn D. Lowry, Akbar's India: Art from the Mughal City of Victory, exh. cat., Asia Society Galleries (New York, 1985), p. 65; p. 67, fig. 27; p. 142, no. 27
  • Annemarie Schimmel, Terres d'Islam: Aux Sources de l'Orient Musulman, Maisonneuve et Larose (Paris, France, 1994), Pg. 156
  • Richard C. Foltz, Frederick Denny, and Azizan Baharuddin, ed., c, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, Mass, 2003), cover
  • Stephan Wolohojian and Alvin L. Clark, Jr., Harvard Art Museum/ Handbook, ed. Stephan Wolohojian, Harvard Art Museum (Cambridge, 2008), p. 86

Exhibition History

  • Anvari's Divan: A Pocket Book for Akbar, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 02/07/1984 - 03/28/1984
  • Akbar's India: Art from the Mughal City of Victory, Asia Society Galleries, New York, 10/10/1985 - 01/05/1986; Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/24/1986 - 03/16/1986
  • Earthly Paradise: Gardens in Islamic Art, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 05/08/1993 - 08/22/1993
  • Courts and Countryside: Islamic Paintings from the 14th through the 17th Century, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/21/1999 - 08/22/1999
  • 32Q: 2590 South and Southeast Asia, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 05/14/2015

Subjects and Contexts

  • Collection Highlights
  • Google Art Project

Related Works

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu