"The Flight of the Tortoise", Folio from a Kalila wa Dimna

Unknown

second quarter 16th century · Ink and opaque watercolor on paper · Islamic Art

This manuscript contains seventy-eight paintings and many text folios telling the famous tales of the jackals Kalila and Dimna. Based on the book of ancient Indian animal fables, the Panchatantra written by Vidyapati (Bidpai), the stories spread all over the Middle East where they became wildly popular. This manuscript has a strong flavor of Mamluk Egypt in the figure styles and bold drawings, with hints of Ottoman tulips and Safavid turbans. However, the burnt orange palette and darkly-inked lines have led to an attribution to Sultanate Gujarat where it is suggested this manuscript was copied from an Egyptian original. Its life in India is also attested by a Devanagari inscription at the end, although the rest of the Arabic text is written in a strong, left-leaning naskh-like script.

Artist

Unknown

Date

second quarter 16th century

Medium

Ink and opaque watercolor on paper

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

The Alice and Nasli Heeramaneck Collection, Gift of Alice Heeramaneck, 1981