1966.6: The Return from the Flight into Egypt

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1966.6

People

Muhammad Zaman, Persian

Title

The Return from the Flight into Egypt

Classification

Paintings with Calligraphy

Work Type

painting with calligraphy

Date

1689

Places

Creation Place: Middle East, Iran, Isfahan

Period

Safavid period

Culture

Persian

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/216250

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Ink, color and gold on paper

Dimensions

21.6 x 14.5 cm (8 1/2 x 5 11/16 in.)
frame: 48.6 x 38.4 x 2.5 cm (19 1/8 x 15 1/8 x 1 in.)

Inscriptions and Marks

• inscription: upper and lower borders, ink on paper, Persian, in artist's hand

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Fredrik Robert Martin, Florence, (by 1912). John Goelet, New York and London, (by 1966), gift; to the Fogg Museum, 1966.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of John Goelet

Accession Year

1966

Object Number

1966.6

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

This painting is based on an engraving made by the Flemish artist Vosterman, after Rubens' work 'The Return from the Flight into Egypt'. It shows Mary, Joseph, and child Jesus returning to their homeland after their flight to Egypt. Two lines of Persian inscriptions written in nastaliq script can be seen on the top and bottom of the page. The inscription indicates that Muhammad Zaman finished it in August-September of 1689 in the capital city of Isfahan and it is dedicated to Isa (Jesus). Jesus is considered a great prophet in Islam and it is likely that the painting was made for a Christian patron, perhaps an Armenian in Julfa. The painting is done on paper and displays Muhammad Zaman's attempts at creating modeling, three-dimensionality, and perspective. The artist is known to have worked from European prints available in Iran at that time.

Publication History

• F.R. Martin, The Miniature Painting and Painters of Persia, India and Turkey, from the 8th to the 18th century, B. Quaritch (London, England, 1912), vol. II, pl. 173 (top)
• Basil Gray, Persian Painting (1961), p. 170
• Anthony Welch, Shah 'Abbas and the Arts of Isfahan, exh. cat., Asia Society Museum (New York, NY, 1973), p. 108, fig. 72
• "The Life of Muhammad Zaman: a Reconsideration", Iran (1979), vol. 17, pp. 65-70, pp. 65-70
• Marianna Shreve Simpson, Arab and Persian Painting in the Fogg Art Museum, Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1980), pp. 53, 104-105, 107, no. 40, ill.
• 40 Years On... Donations by John Goelet: Sculpture, Paintings and Drawings, Miniatures and Calligraphy, Tankas and Mandala, M. T. Train and Scala Books (New York, NY, 2000), p.176, fig. 241
• Amy Landau, ed., Pearls on a String: Artists, Patrons, and Poets at the Great Islamic Courts, exh. cat., The Walters Art Museum (Baltimore, 2015), p. 168, fig. 6.1
• Shuji Takashina, The Lectures of the 47th Annual Seminar on Arts, Kajima Foundation of Art (Tokyo, 2019), fig. 13
• Negar Habibi, "The Making of New Art: From the Khazana to its Audience at the Court of Shah Soleyman", Safavid Persia in the Age of Empires: The Idea of Iran, ed. Charles Melville (London, 2021), vol. 10, p. 434, fig. 5, plate VIII

Exhibition History

• The Enlightened Eye: Gifts from John Goelet, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 02/12/2000 - 05/07/2000
• 32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/04/2021 - 01/06/2022
• Traces of the Poet, Artist, and Patron in the Age of Islamic Empires, The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, 11/08/2015 - 01/31/2016; Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, 02/26/2016 - 05/08/2016

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