17th century

Asian Art

The tiny rodent in the foreground of this painting is drinking from a blue-and-white Chinese porcelain bowl, a ceramic type that was revered and collected in Safavid Iran. The introverted ascetic’s complete lack of interest in this rare luxury item, however, suggests that he has reached a spiritual state beyond such petty concerns.

Medium

Ink and opaque watercolor on paper

Dimensions

without mounting: 4 7/16 × 2 1/2 in. (11.3 × 6.4 cm)
with mounting: 10 5/8 × 8 3/16 in. (27 × 20.8 cm)

Credit Line

The Vera M. and John D. MacDonald, B.A. 1927, Collection, Gift of Mrs. John D. MacDonald

Accession Number

2001.138.7

Geography
Period

Safavid dynasty (1501–1722)

Classification
Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance

Provenance

Sale Collection Sevadjian, Paris, March, 1961 lot 7; sold to Vera M. MacDonald and John D. MacDonald, Boston, Mass., 1961; given to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2001
Bibliography
  • Kishwar Rizvi, ed., Affect, Emotion, and Subjectivity in Early Modern Muslim Empires: New Studies in Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Art and Culture, 9 (Boston: Brill, 2018), cover ill., ill.
Object copyright
Additional information

Object/Work type

human figures (visual works)

Technical metadata and APIs

IIIF

Open in Mirador

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