A Gathering of Mythical Creatures around a Lotus Leaf
This image of an angel, two fantastic beasts, and a goose riding a tortoise is a copy of an early 15th-century Persian drawing in an album of similar material, now kept in the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin. Signed by Mu‘in Musavvir, a leading 17th-century Safavid artist, the work is dated 1088/1677. The work suggests that Mu‘in had recently seen the album for the first time, since from around 1675 until the end of his career in the late 17th century Mu‘in drew many Chinese-style animals in landscape. While most of those images conform to the artist’s more calligraphic style of draftsmanship, the introduction of this type of content was new and may be explained by the impact of the album drawings and paintings on his work.
Artwork Details
- Title: A Gathering of Mythical Creatures around a Lotus Leaf
- Artist: Mu'in Musavvir (Iranian, active 1630s–90s)
- Date: dated Shawwal 1088 AH/1677 CE
- Geography: Made in Iran
- Medium: Watercolor and ink on paper
- Dimensions: Folio:
H. 15 1/2 in. (39.4 cm)
W. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm)
Drawing:
H. 10 1/4 in. (26 cm)
W. 6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm) - Classification: Codices
- Credit Line: Gift of William and James Morton, in memory of their brother, Sandy Morton, Persian scholar and collector, 2016
- Object Number: 2016.715
- Curatorial Department: Islamic Art
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