Book Cover with Tree, Birds, and Insects

Unknown

ca. 1700 · Lacquer, opaque watercolor, and gold on leather · Islamic Art

This book cover decorated with opulent and fantastical flowering scenes on lacquer was made for a manuscript or album that has since been disseminated. Depictions of flowering vases are a known design from the Deccan, and the fertile trees are oftentimes interpreted as "Tree of Life" motifs. The unusually large scale of the birds and insects in the scene is characteristic of the whimsical creativity of artists from the Deccan region of India.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1700

Medium

Lacquer, opaque watercolor, and gold on leather

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Howard Hodgkin Collection, Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions, 2020 Benefit, and Dodge Funds; Howard S. and Nancy Marks Gift; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and funds from various donors, 2022