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Image for Leaf from 'Iyar-i Danish: A Dragon in a Well
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Leaf from 'Iyar-i Danish: A Dragon in a Well Thumbnail
Leaf from 'Iyar-i Danish: A Dragon in a Well Thumbnail

Leaf from 'Iyar-i Danish: A Dragon in a Well

Abu al-Fazl ibn Mubarak (1551-1602) (Author)
late 10th century AH/AD 16th century (Mughal)
ink and pigments on paper mounted on pasteboard
(Manuscripts and Rare Books, Islamic World , Islamic Manuscripts)

This single leaf is from "Iyar-I Danish, a text based on the genre of animal tales in the vein of Kalila wa Dimna. Abu'l Fazl translated Kalila wa Dimna and offered his audiences a simplified version of these captivating animal fables. The image shows the fate of a man who, escaping from a wild camel, jumps into a well. There his predicament grows even more precarious when he lands on the heads of four snakes, grasps in desperation at a bush gnawed by two rats, and looks down to see dragon waiting to devour him should he fall.

Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

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Geographies

India (Place of Origin)

Measurements

H: 13 3/16 x W: 8 1/4 in. (33.5 x 21 cm)

Credit Line

Acquired by Henry Walters

Location in Museum

Not on view

Accession Number

In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.

W.692.A

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Parent Object

Image for The Tale of the Man in the Well from the 'Iyar-i Danish (Touchstone of Wisdom) of Abu al-Fazl

The Tale of the Man in the Well from the 'Iyar-i Danish (Touchstone of Wisdom) of Abu al-Fazl

Abu al-Fazl ibn Mubarak (1551-1602)
late 10th century AH/AD late 16th century (Mughal)
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600 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD
21201

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410-547-9000

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