"Jonah and the Whale", Folio from a Majma' al-Tavarikh (Compendium of Histories) of Hafiz-i Abru
Author Hafiz-i Abru Iranian
Not on view
Written by court historian Hafiz-i Abru and modelled after the Ilkhanid Jami' al-Tavarikh, the text of the Majma al-Tavarikh begins at the time of Adam and continues into the rule of Shah Rukh (r. 1405–47). In this scene, Jonah crouches in the foliage on the bank of a body of water, which was painted in silver and has since oxidized, making it appear dark grey in color. This manuscript, which was originally composed of 407 folios including 150 miniatures, remained intact until at least 1928. It had a leather binding, and its paintings were executed in three different styles. The Metropolitan Museum owns ten folios from the manuscript.
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