Folio from the Kathasaritsagara

Unknown

ca. 1590 · Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper · Islamic Art

Folio from the Kathasaritsagara — Unknown

This folio is from a vast compilation of tales in Sanskrit written by the eleventh-century poet Somadeva for the amusement of the Kashmiri queen Suryamati, and translated into Persian for Akbar (r. 1556–1605) in the late sixteenth century. Exactly which of the hundreds of Somadeva’s stories is depicted here has yet to be determined, but the action appears typical of these tales, which are fantastic and unusually complicated, involving many twists and turns.

Artist
Unknown
Date
ca. 1590
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Department
Islamic Art
Credit line
Purchase, Friends of Islamic Art Gifts, 2010

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