ticketsMember | Make a donation

"The Anecdote of the Man Who Fell into the Water", Folio 44r from a Mantiq al-Tayr (Language of the Birds)

Calligrapher Sultan 'Ali al-Mashhadi Iranian
Author Farid al-Din `Attar Iranian
dated 892 AH/1487 CE
Not on view
This painting from Attar’s Mantiq al‑Tair illustrates the parable told by the hoopoe in which a man’s pride in his exceptionally long beard causes him to drown in the sea—teaching that pride in worldly attachments will eventually bring one to ruin. The prominent, but seemingly unrelated, image of a man gathering firewood in the foreground has been interpreted as a visual pun embodying mystical significance. Some scholars see it as a metaphor for a breathing meditation practice followed by Sufi adherents that produces a sound akin to sawing wood.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "The Anecdote of the Man Who Fell into the Water", Folio 44r from a Mantiq al-Tayr (Language of the Birds)
  • Calligrapher: Sultan 'Ali al-Mashhadi (Iranian, Mashhad 1453–1520 Mashhad)
  • Author: Farid al-Din `Attar (Iranian, Nishapur ca. 1142–ca. 1220 Nishapur)
  • Date: dated 892 AH/1487 CE
  • Geography: Made in present-day Afghanistan, Herat
  • Medium: Opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper
  • Dimensions: Painting: H. 7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm)
    W. 5 1/8in. (13cm)
    Page: H. 13 in. (33 cm)
    W. 8 7/16 in. (21.4 cm)
    Mat: H. 19 1/4 in. (48.9 cm)
    W. 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm)
  • Classification: Codices
  • Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1963
  • Object Number: 63.210.44
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Illuminated Frontispiece of a Manuscript of the Mantiq al-Tayr (Language of the Birds), Sultan 'Ali al-Mashhadi Iranian, Ink, opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper
Illuminated Frontispiece of a Manuscript of the Mantiq al-Tayr (Language of the Birds)
Multiple artists/makers
text: dated 892 AH/1487 CE; illumination: ca. 1600
Divan (Collected Works) of Mir 'Ali Shir Nava'i, Sultan 'Ali al-Mashhadi Iranian, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper; lacquer binding
Divan (Collected Works) of Mir 'Ali Shir Nava'i
Sultan 'Ali al-Mashhadi
1499–1500
"Funeral Procession", Folio 35r from a Mantiq al-Tayr (Language of the Birds), Sultan 'Ali al-Mashhadi Iranian, Opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper
"Funeral Procession", Folio 35r from a Mantiq al-Tayr (Language of the Birds)
Sultan 'Ali al-Mashhadi
Farid al-Din `Attar
dated 892 AH/1486 CE
Divan of Sultan Husayn Baiqara, Sultan 'Ali al-Mashhadi Iranian, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper; lacquer binding
Divan of Sultan Husayn Baiqara
Sultan 'Ali al-Mashhadi
dated 905 AH/1500 CE
"Farhad Carves a Milk Channel for Shirin", Folio 74 from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja, Nizami, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
"Farhad Carves a Milk Channel for Shirin", Folio 74 from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja
Multiple artists/makers
931 AH/1524–25 CE

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

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.