Princely Hawking Party

Mirza 'Ali

ca. 1570 · Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper · Islamic Art

This painting, attributed to Mirza 'Ali, is the left half of a double‑page composition (shared with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) representing a pause during a hunt. Here, a youth straddling a rock cups the chin of a bare‑chested boy whose upper arms are lined with burn marks, indicating that he is a Sufi, or follower of the mystical path, who has burned himself as a sign of his love of God.

Artist

Mirza 'Ali

Date

ca. 1570

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1912