id:			170879
accession number:	2013.347.b
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2013.347.b
updated:		2024-03-26 02:01:36.832000

Calligraphic exercises and verses of Hafiz (Persian, about 1325–1389) (verso), 1575–76. Mahmud ibn Ishaq al-Shahabi (Persian, active mid- to late 1500s). Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper; page: 28 x 23.8 cm (11 x 9 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.347.b

title:				Calligraphic exercises and verses of Hafiz (Persian, about 1325–1389) (verso)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1575–76
creation date earliest:		1575
creation date latest:		1576
current location:		242B Indian Painting
creditline:			Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection
copyright:			

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culture:	Persian, Uzbekistan, Bukhara
technique:	Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
department:	Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection:	Indian Art - Mughal
type:		Calligraphy
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Mahmud ibn Ishaq al-Shahabi (Persian, active mid- to late 1500s)  - calligraphy by

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measurements: Page: 28 x 23.8 cm (11 x 9 3/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	In center, Persian exercises including on the second line down the “abjad” letters of numeration followed by calligrapher’s signature, in nasta‘liq script:
Done by the hand of the sinful slave Mahmud ibn Ishaq al-Shahabi, may God forgive his sins, in the year 982
	translation:	
	remark:		

	inscription:	Persian verses above from a ghazal of Hafiz (Persian, 1325–1389), in nasta‘liq script:
For some days now the Daughter of the Vine has been lost to us,/
Gone away to tend to her own affairs.  Be alert and prepared (as a search party)./
Her dress is of rubies and she wears a tiara of delicate glass./
She carries off wisdom and knowledge. Till you feel safe and secure from her, remain alert!/
Whoever will bring her bitter presence to me, I will give him sweet confectionaries (halwa) in exchange,/
And should she be hiding in disguise in the underworld, go down (and seek her out)/
The daughter of the dark-colored (vine) is quick-tempered, petulant, rose-colored and drunk./
Should you find her, take her towards Hafiz’s house.
	translation:	
	remark:		

	inscription:	Persian verses below, continued from above, in nasta‘liq script:
I saw her last night, sauntering and tipsy./
A cup in hand, she was heading towards a gathering of the drunk/
I was so vexed that my poetic powers/
Became distraught and fled away from me/
She was harboring thoughts of Khwarazm and the shores of the Oxus/
With a thousand complaints she was leaving the Kingdom of Solomon/
Gone would be the person who knew the very soul of poetry as no one else./
I was witnessing this and my soul was seeping out of my body/
I protested and much lamented but to no avail/
For this was a matter for the Sultan’s compassion to tend.
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Art and Stories from Mughal India
	opening date:   2016-07-31T04:00:00
	<i>Art and Stories from Mughal India</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Sir Charles Forbes, 7th Baronet [1773–1849], Bengal, London, and Scotland, by descent to his great-grandson, Colonel Sir John Forbes
	date: before 1811–1849
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Colonel Sir John Stewart Forbes [1901–1984], Baronet, DSO, DL, Allargue House, Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK, consigned to Sotheby's London for sale
	date: ?–1962
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Sotheby’s, London, Western and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, 10 December 1962, lot 25, sold to Ralph Benkaim)
	date: December 10, 1962
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Ralph Benkaim [1914–2001] and Catherine Glynn Benkaim [b. 1946], Beverly Hills, CA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 1962–2013
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2013–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:


digital description:


wall description:

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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.347.b/2013.347.b_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.347.b/2013.347.b_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.347.b/2013.347.b_full.tif