1960.117.173: It's the Day for the Garden (painting, recto; text, verso), folio 173 from a manuscript of the Divan (Collection of Works) of Anvari

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1960.117.173

People

Ascribed to Mahesh, Indian

Title

It's the Day for the Garden (painting, recto; text, verso), folio 173 from a manuscript of the Divan (Collection of Works) of Anvari

Classification

Manuscripts

Work Type

manuscript folio

Date

1588

Places

Creation Place: South Asia, Pakistan, Punjab, Lahore

Period

Mughal period

Culture

Indian

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/169774

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

Dimensions

folio: 13.97 x 7.62 cm (5 1/2 x 3 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Louis J. Cartier collection. John Goelet, New York, NY, (by 1960), gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1960.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of John Goelet

Accession Year

1960

Object Number

1960.117.173

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

The recto side of the folio features a painting depicting two figures tending to a garden. At the center of the painting is a large square fountain from which three water channels issue. Two text blocks containing Persian text written in nasta’liq script and black ink are at the top and bottom of the painting.
The verso side of the folio features two columns of Persian text written in black ink and nasta’liq script.
The folio belongs to an illustrated copy of the Divan of Anvari commissioned by the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) in 1588 and in Lahore. The poet Anvari (1126-1189) is considered one of the greatest figures in Persian literature. His panegyric in honor of the Seljuq sultan, Ahmad Sanjar (r. 1118-1157) earned him royal favor and the patronage of two of Sanjar’s successors. Anvari’s poems were collected in a Divan, which contains eulogies, satire, panegyrics, and other forms of poetry and prose.

Publication History

• Michele de Angelis and Thomas W. Lentz, Architecture in Islamic Painting: Permanent and Impermanent Worlds, brochure, Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, Mass, 1982)
• Michael Brand and Glenn D. Lowry, Akbar's India: Art from the Mughal City of Victory, exh. cat., Asia Society Galleries (New York, 1985), p. 65; p. 67, fig. 27; p. 142, no. 27
• Annemarie Schimmel, Terres d'Islam: Aux Sources de l'Orient Musulman, Maisonneuve et Larose (Paris, France, 1994), Pg. 156
• Richard C. Foltz, Frederick Denny, and Azizan Baharuddin, ed., c, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, Mass, 2003), cover
• Stephan Wolohojian and Alvin L. Clark, Jr., Harvard Art Museum/ Handbook, ed. Stephan Wolohojian, Harvard Art Museum (Cambridge, 2008), p. 86

Exhibition History

• Anvari's Divan: A Pocket Book for Akbar, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 02/07/1984 - 03/28/1984
• Akbar's India: Art from the Mughal City of Victory, Asia Society Galleries, New York, 10/10/1985 - 01/05/1986; Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/24/1986 - 03/16/1986
• Earthly Paradise: Gardens in Islamic Art, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 05/08/1993 - 08/22/1993
• Courts and Countryside: Islamic Paintings from the 14th through the 17th Century, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/21/1999 - 08/22/1999
• 32Q: 2590 South and Southeast Asia, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 05/14/2015

Subjects and Contexts

• Google Art Project
• Collection Highlights

Related Objects

• 
  Object Number
  1960.117
  Title

  Illustrated Manuscript of the Divan of Anvari, copied for Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605)

  Classification
  Manuscripts

Verification Level