"Dancing Dervishes", Folio from a Divan of Hafiz

Bihzad|Hafiz

ca. 1480 · Opaque watercolor and gold on paper · Islamic Art

This miniature from a dispersed manuscript of the poems of Hafiz depicts Sufis or mystics dancing. In the court style of Herat, the rhythm set up by the whirling of the dancers contrasts with the meditative figures encircling them. Those overcome by the movement of the dance seen in the foreground exemplify the naturalism of this period, while the scene is set against a verdant landscape resembling an earthly paradise.

Artist

Bihzad|Hafiz

Date

ca. 1480

Medium

Opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1917