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)

Also known as: Folio A from the Panj Ganj of Jami: Zulaykha as an Old Woman Meets Yusuf; Page from a Panj Ganj of Abd al-Rahman Jami (Persian, 1414–1492), with two Persian masnavis: Yusuf va Zulaykha (Joseph and Zulaykha) and Khirad-nama-i Iskandari (verso)

About the Artwork

This section of text from Jami’s poem of Joseph and Zulaykha, written diagonally in the margins, describes the beauties of Zulaykha’s house, in which she intends to seduce Joseph. It includes the following verses: Jeweled lamps on the walls were hung / And odorous herbs were beneath them flung. / She gathered together all things most fair, / And unrolled the carpet of pleasure there. / But amid the charms of the sumptuous hall / She longed only for Joseph, far dearer than all. / A heavenly palace is dark and dim / To a lover whose darling is far from him. The longing of Zulaykha for Joseph metaphorically describes an imperfect devotee’s mystical love for God. With patience, forbearance, and virtuous actions, unification with the divine will eventually occur, even for the most flawed among us. On this page also begins the Khirad-nama-i Iskandari (Alexander’s Book of Wisdom), another of the five narrative poems that make up the Panj Ganj.

Inscriptions

[[Persian title in gold, nasta’liq script]] Khirad-nama-I Iskandari

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).

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.b

More by Mushfiq in museum collections

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)
Mushfiq
1603–7 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of ArtAT-00009779

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