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Folio from the Kathasaritsagara

ca. 1590
Not on view
This folio is from a vast compilation of tales in Sanskrit written by the eleventh-century poet Somadeva for the amusement of the Kashmiri queen Suryamati, and translated into Persian for Akbar (r. 1556–1605) in the late sixteenth century. Exactly which of the hundreds of Somadeva’s stories is depicted here has yet to be determined, but the action appears typical of these tales, which are fantastic and unusually complicated, involving many twists and turns.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Folio from the Kathasaritsagara
  • Date: ca. 1590
  • Geography: Attributed to India
  • Medium: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
  • Dimensions: H. 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm)
    W. 8 1/8 in. (20.6 cm)
  • Classification: Codices
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Islamic Art Gifts, 2010
  • Object Number: 2010.169
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
"Akbar With Lion and Calf", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album, Govardhan, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
"Akbar With Lion and Calf", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album
Painting by Govardhan
Calligrapher Mir 'Ali Haravi
verso: ca. 1630; recto: ca. 1530–50
Folio from a Mu'nis al-ahrar fi daqa'iq al-ash'ar (The Free Man's Companion to the Subtleties of Poems) of Jajarmi, Muhammad ibn Badr al-Din Jajarmi Iranian, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Folio from a Mu'nis al-ahrar fi daqa'iq al-ash'ar (The Free Man's Companion to the Subtleties of Poems) of Jajarmi
Author Muhammad ibn Badr al-Din Jajarmi
dated 741 AH/1340–41 CE
"Shah Jahan on a Terrace, Holding a Pendant Set With His Portrait", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album, Chitarman Indian, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
"Shah Jahan on a Terrace, Holding a Pendant Set With His Portrait", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album
Painted by Chitarman
recto: dated 1627–28; verso: ca. 1530–50
"The Feast of Sada", Folio 22v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp, Abu'l Qasim Firdausi Iranian, Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper
"The Feast of Sada", Folio 22v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp
Author Abu'l Qasim Firdausi
Painting attributed to Sultan Muhammad
ca. 1525
Flower-Style Box with Drawers, Wood (poplar); overlaid with ebony inlaid with wood and incised, stained ivory
Flower-Style Box with Drawers
17th century

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