1963.90: Calligraphic Portrait of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib
Albums
This object does not yet have a description.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1963.90
- People
-
Calligraphy by Ibrahim Danishpishah (Zarin-Qalam), Iranian
- Title
- Calligraphic Portrait of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib
- Classification
- Albums
- Work Type
- album folio
- Date
- 1344 AH/1924-1925 CE
- Places
- Creation Place: Middle East, Iran
- Period
- Qajar period
- Culture
- Persian
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/215660
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Ink, color and gold on paper
- Dimensions
- 33.6 x 23.2 cm (13 1/4 x 9 1/8 in.)
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Chester A. Priest
- Accession Year
- 1963
- Object Number
- 1963.90
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Descriptions
- Description
- This composition depicts `Ali ibn Abi Talib, Islam's fourth orthodox caliph and first Shi`i imam. In the smaller vignettes below, horsemen representing `Ali's grandsons Qasim and `Ali Akbar flank a central image in which the Prophet Muhammad riding Buraq is greeted by `Ali in the guise of a lion. The composition incorporates pious expressions and verses from the Qur'an (2:255; 12:64; and 113). The date has been slightly abraded so that it is easy to misread it as 1244 (1828-29) rather than 1344 (1924-25).
Publication History
- Annemarie Schimmel, "Poetry and Calligraphy: Thoughts about their Interrelation in Persian Culture", ed. Richard Ettinghausen, Westview Press, Inc. (Colorado, 1979), p. 208, fig. 121
- Rahim Habibeh, Inscription As Art In the World of Islam - Unity In Diversity, exh. cat., Hofstra University (Hempstead, NY, 1996), page 24/figure 1
- Maryam Ekhtiar, "Infused with Shi`ism: Representations of the Prophet in Qajar Iran", Picturing Prophetic Knowledge: The Prophet Muhammad in Cross-Cultural Literary and Artistic Traditions, ed. Christiane Gruber and Avinoam Shalem, De Gruyter (Berlin, 2014), pp. 97-138, pp. 109-110, ill. pp. 137-138
Exhibition History
- Islamic Art From the Collections of the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 08/01/1974
- The Continuous Stroke of a Breath: Calligraphy from the Islamic World, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 12/20/2003 - 07/18/2004
- 32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 04/26/2017 - 11/08/2017
- 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 04/10/2015 - 05/10/2015
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