A mendicant bowing before a holy man, from the Prince Salim Album

About the Artwork

As the Mughal atelier grew into the 1580s, Indian artists become increasingly adept at incorporating Persian styles with a new dimensionality and naturalism that Akbar promoted, possibly based on his appreciation of European prints and paintings. Here, a sincere holy man wears robes tinged lightly with blue. He stands beneath a tree in the wilderness with a loyal jackal by his side. A devotee touches his head to his feet. The artist’s tiny signature is written on the alms bowl. Connoisseurs of Persian art in the Islamic world praised an artist’s virtuoso ability to work on a microscopic scale.

Inscriptions

Persian inscription on mendicant’s bowl, in nasta‘liq script: the work of Basavana; Persian verse at top from a ghazal (lyrical poem) of Hafiz (Persian, 1325–1389), in nasta‘liq script: I have fallen at his feet, grieving and wailing./ Could it be that I might receive a helping hand?

Provenance

mid-1900s–May 1967: (Dikran Kelekian [1868–1951], New York, NY, sold to Ralph Benkaim) 1967–2013: Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016). Indian Painting of the 1500s: Continuities and Transformations. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 15, 2025-January 11, 2026).

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.

Quick Overview

Artist: Basavana (Indian, active c. 1560–1600)
Date: c. 1585; inner border added in Allahabad c. 1602; outer border added probably 1900s
Medium: Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions: Page: 32.7 x 21.1 cm (12 7/8 x 8 5/16 in.); Painting: 13.6 x 7.5 cm (5 3/8 x 2 15/16 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Credit line: Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection
Accession no.: 2013.296

More by Basavana in museum collections

Jain Ascetic Walking Along a Riverbank
Basavana
c. 1600 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009464
The hunter offers the mother parrot to the king of Kamarupa, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night
Basavana
c. 1560 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009676