A Hunter Shoots a Leopard; Illustration to the Anwar-i Suhaili
This painting of a hunter shooting is leopard is a fragment of a larger illustration to the Anwar-i Suhaili (Lights of the Canopus), a Persian version of the Panchatantra (an ancient collection of didactic animal fables in Sanskrit). The story here is on the theme of retribution, told through the viewpoint of the lynx who observes the hunter kill a leopard which had killed a dog, in a chain of animals which had all sequentially killed each other before meeting the same fate—before the dog, a fox, a hedgehog, a snake, and a mouse who began all this when it gnawed a tree. The unflinching depiction of the shot leopard is perhaps the most arresting part of this painting. Communicating the pain of the arrow through its body curled up—and falling forward in shock, yelping face and copious bleeding, drives home the point of the moral tale.
Artwork Details
- Title: A Hunter Shoots a Leopard; Illustration to the Anwar-i Suhaili
- Date: ca. 1570–75
- Geography: Country of Origin India
- Medium: Opaque color and gold on paper
- Dimensions: Image: Ht. 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm)
W. 7 in. (17.8 cm)
Frame: Ht. 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)
W. 10 1/8 in. (25.7 cm)
D. 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm) - Classification: Codices
- Credit Line: Howard Hodgkin Collection, Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions, Harris Brisbane Dick, and 2020 Benefit Funds; Howard S. and Nancy Marks, Lila Acheson Wallace, and Friends of Islamic Art Gifts; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and funds from various donors, 2022
- Object Number: 2022.174
- Curatorial Department: Islamic Art
More Artwork
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.