"Coffin of Imam 'Ali", Folio from a Falnama (The Book of Omens) of Ja'far al-Sadiq
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.
Artwork Details
- 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
- Curatorial Department: Islamic Art
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