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"Allegory of Worldly and Otherworldly Drunkenness", Folio from the Divan of Hafiz

Poet Hafiz Iranian
Painting by Sultan Muhammad Iranian
ca. 1531–33
Not on view
Sultan Muhammad, the most innovative painter of early sixteenth-century Iran, illustrates the verses by the mystical poet Hafiz by employing his characteristic sense of humor and extreme attention to detail. The tavern party, complete with ecstatic dancers, singers and overindulgent drinkers, is given a new meaning by the presence of angels on top of the pavilion, suggesting that the state of drunkenness can be likened to that of spiritual enlightenment. As a Sufi symbol, wine stands for heaven's divine light and the cup into which it is poured, for the devotee's heart.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "Allegory of Worldly and Otherworldly Drunkenness", Folio from the Divan of Hafiz
  • Poet: Hafiz (Iranian, Shiraz ca. 1325–1390 Shiraz)
  • Artist: Painting by Sultan Muhammad (Iranian, active first half 16th century)
  • Date: ca. 1531–33
  • Geography: Attributed to Iran, Tabriz
  • Medium: Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper
  • Dimensions: Illuminated folio:
    Painting: H. 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)
    W. 5 15/16 in. (15.1 cm)
    Page: H. 11 3/8 in. (28.9 cm)
    W. 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm)

    Calligraphic folio:
    Painting: H. 7 in. (17.8 cm)
    W. 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm)
    Page: H. 11 1/4 in. (28.6 cm)
    W. 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm)

    Mat: H. 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm)
    W. 19 1/4 in. (48.9 cm)
  • Classification: Codices
  • Credit Line: Jointly owned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University; Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Cary Welch Jr., 1988
  • Object Number: 1988.430 + L.2019.55
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
"Dancing Dervishes", Folio from a Divan of Hafiz, Hafiz Iranian, Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
"Dancing Dervishes", Folio from a Divan of Hafiz
Poet Hafiz
Painting attributed to Bihzad
ca. 1480
"The Feast of Sada", Folio 22v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp, Abu'l Qasim Firdausi Iranian, Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper
"The Feast of Sada", Folio 22v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp
Author Abu'l Qasim Firdausi
Painting attributed to Sultan Muhammad
ca. 1525
Folio from a Mu'nis al-ahrar fi daqa'iq al-ash'ar (The Free Man's Companion to the Subtleties of Poems) of Jajarmi, Muhammad ibn Badr al-Din Jajarmi Iranian, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Folio from a Mu'nis al-ahrar fi daqa'iq al-ash'ar (The Free Man's Companion to the Subtleties of Poems) of Jajarmi
Author Muhammad ibn Badr al-Din Jajarmi
dated 741 AH/1340–41 CE
Anthology of Persian Poetry, Hafiz Iranian, Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper<br/>Binding: opaque watercolor and gold on leather
Anthology of Persian Poetry
Multiple artists/makers
17th century
"Isfandiyar's Third Course: He Slays a Dragon", Folio 434v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp, Abu'l Qasim Firdausi Iranian, Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper
"Isfandiyar's Third Course: He Slays a Dragon", Folio 434v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp
Author Abu'l Qasim Firdausi
Painting attributed to Qasim ibn 'Ali
ca. 1530

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