Zulaykha in her palace and as an elderly woman with Joseph (recto), from a Panj Ganj (Five Treasures) of Abd al- Rahman Jami (Persian, 1414–1492)

Also known as: Folio A from the Panj Ganj of Jami: Zulaykha as an Old Woman Meets Yusuf; Zulaykha in her palace and as an old woman with Joseph, from a Panj Ganj (Five Treasures) of Abd al-Rahman Jami (Persian, 1414–1492) (recto)

About the Artwork

The golden pot of white narcissus flowers at the bottom center of the painting signals that Zulaykha, leaning on her staff to the left, will imminently have her youth and beauty restored. In this Persian retelling of the Old Testament account from the Bible, Zulaykha lusted after Joseph, even though she was already married to Potiphar. Joseph, with the golden halo, resisted her advances until she became a widow and retained his youth, because of his extreme virtue. Above, Zulaykha as a young woman waits for Joseph in her house where murals of them as a happy couple are painted on the walls.

Inscriptions

[[Upper left of painting, against a red background, in nasta’liq script]] ' amal - i Mushfiq sana 1015 Text on verso

Provenance

before 1923: Georges Demotte [1877–1923], Paris, France, and New York, NY 1940s: French private collection October 18, 1994: (Christie's, London, England, Islamic Art, Indian Miniatures, October 18, 1994 sale, lot 9) 1994–2013: 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). Nature Supernatural. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 22, 2023-March 3, 2024).

Quick Overview

Artist: Mushfiq (Indian, active early 1600s)
Date: 1603–7
Medium: Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions: Text area: 17.8 x 9.5 cm (7 x 3 3/4 in.); Page: 31.6 x 20.4 cm (12 7/16 x 8 1/16 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.: 2013.315.1.a

More by Mushfiq in museum collections

Illuminated page (verso), from a Panj Ganj (Five Treasures) of Abd al- Rahman Jami (Persian, 1414–1492) with two Persian masnavis: Yusuf va Zulaykha (Joseph and Zulaykha) and Khirad-nama-i Iskandari (Alexander’s Book of Wisdom)
Mushfiq
1603–7 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of ArtAT-00010182

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