"Coffin of Imam 'Ali", Folio from a Falnama (The Book of Omens) of Ja'far al-Sadiq
Not on view
This folio is from a manuscript of the Falnama (Book of Omens), an illustrated divinatory book. It depicts 'Ali, the first Shi'i imam, shown with a face veil and a flaming halo. He leads a camel with a coffin while two other men, his sons Hasan and Husain, watch from behind a hillside. According to Anatolian mystical thought, Imam 'Ali not only predicted his own death but also told his two sons that when he died, a veiled man would carry his coffin away on a camel for burial. He cautioned them not to question the man. When 'Ali’s prediction came true, Hasan and Husain could not resist asking the man’s identity and discovered that he was in fact their father, who was carrying his own body to the grave.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:"Coffin of Imam 'Ali", Folio from a Falnama (The Book of Omens) of Ja'far al-Sadiq
Date:mid-1550s–early 1560s
Geography:Attributed to Iran, Qazvin
Medium:Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions:Painting: H. 22 5/16 in. (56.7 cm) W. 16 7/8 in. (42.8 cm) Mat : H. 28 in. (71.1 cm) W. 22 in. (55.9 cm) Frame: H. 30 1/2 in. (77.5 cm) W. 24 1/2 in. (62.2 cm)
Classification:Codices
Credit Line:Purchase, Francis M. Weld Gift, 1950
Object Number:50.23.2
Coffin of Imam Ali
In this unusual illustration, a veiled figure leads a camel with a coffin, while two other veiled men watch from behind a hillside.[1] Later inscriptions identify them as the imans Hassan and Husayn, and the figure in the lower left is their father, Imam Ali. Each one wears traditional Safavid headgear (taj-i haydari) and is distinguished by a flaming nimbus. With no additional observers, the scene seems far more "quiet" and private than almost all other Falnama illustrations.
According to the traditions of the Bektashis and Alevis of Anatolia, Imam Ali not only predicted his own death but also told his sons that when he died, a veiled man would come to their house, load his coffin on a camel, and carry it away for burial. Under no circumstance were they to follow the person or question him. When Ali's prediction came true, Hasan and Husayn could not refrain from inquiring about the man's identity. The figure lifted his veil and revealed that he was in fact their father, who was carrying his own body to its grave.[2] The story not only confirms the imam's divinely inspired, miraculous powers but also presents him as the ultimate "seer", who foretells and enacts his own death for his sons.
The accompanying augury is favorable and states, "Gladness will come to him [i.e. the seeker] through a saint or from the world of the unseen." This is also a rare instance in the dispersed Falnama when the prognostication is attributed to a specific source—the prophet Daniel—who is considered a principal authority on the act of divination. Although the illustration occurs only in the dispersed Falnama, it is still popular today in Bektashi and Alevi circles as an example of Ali's divine power.[3]
Massumeh Farhad in [Farhad and Bagci 2009]
Footnotes:
1. The records of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and Armen Tokatlian, Falmaneh: Livre Royal des Sorts (Montreuil: Gourcuff-Gradenigo, 2007), no. 3, identify the image as the funeral of Fatima, Muhammad's daughter and Ali's wife.
2. Frederick de Jong, "Iconography of Bektashiism" in From History to Theology: Ali in Islamic Beliefs, ed. Ahmed Yasar Ocak (Ankara; Turkish Historical Society, 2005), p. 272.
3. I am grateful to Oya Pancaroglu for first pointing out the Bektashi connection.
Inscription: In Persian above figures: Excellency Mortaza (Chosen) Ali, on him be peace! Excellency Imam Hasan Mojtaba (Chosen), on him be peace!
Translation by Hannah McAllister
Marking: - On back of frame two stickers: 1) Le cercueil de Fatima, fille du Prophète, porté sur un chameau que conduit Ali, son mari; à l'arrière plan, ses deux fils, les deux imans Hosan et Hosain; ces trois personnages ont la tête nimbée de l'auréole divine; ou le cercueil de l'imam Riza, avex trois Alides
2) Chenue. SARL / Layetier Emballeur / 5, Rue de la Terrasse, PARIS, (17e) / R.C. SEINE 285.799 B / 14 Oct. 1949 / Monsieur Hindamian / Metropolitan Museum / New York
[ E. Hindamian, Paris, until 1949; sold to MMA]
"Recent Acquisitions." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (1951). p. 109, ill. (b/w).
Tokatlian, Armen. Falnamah: Livre Royal des Sorts. Paris: Gourcuff Gradenigo, 2007. no. 3, pp. 16, 17, ill. (b/w).
Farhad, Massumeh, and Serpil Bagci. "Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery." In Falnama: The Book of Omens. Washington, D.C.: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2009. no. 26, pp. 42, 126–27, 263, ill. (color).
Khafipour, Hani, ed. "Source Studies of the Safavid, Ottoman, and Mughal Literate Communities." In The Empires of the Near East and India. New York: Columbia University Press, 2019. p. 176, fig. 4.1 (b/w).
Abu'l Qasim Firdausi (Iranian, Paj ca. 940/41–1020 Tus)
ca. 1525
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Met's collection of Islamic art is one of the most comprehensive in the world and ranges in date from the seventh to the twenty-first century. Its more than 15,000 objects reflect the great diversity and range of the cultural traditions from Spain to Indonesia.
