"The Prophet Zakariya (Zacharias) in a Tree", folio from a dispersed copy of the Falnama (Book of Omens)
Artist
Iranian
Date1550s–1560s
Mediumwatercolor, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions59.4 x 44.8 cm (23 3/8 x 17 5/8 in.)
ClassificationsNon-Western Miniatures
Credit LineJerome Wheelock Fund
Object number1935.16
Descriptionascribed to Ja'fat al-Sadiq; From a dispersed copy of an extraordinarily large Falnama (Book of divination; including sayings to be used as omens and illustrations of the Old Testament, Prophets, Jesus and the Family of the Prophet Muhammed). Calligraphy on reverse in nastaliq script.The work was probably executed by the court artists of Shah Tahmasp.
"The Prophet Zakariya escaped his pursuers by hiding in a tree that miraculously opened up to admit him, but the hem of his cloak was left protruding, and Iblis (the kneeling figure labeled "accursed Devil") betrayed him. The forces of the Devil sawed apart the tree ad with it Zakariya, whos saintly aura is shown as flames bursting from the branches."
Label TextThis painting is one of twenty-nine known pages from a dispersed manuscript of the Falnama, which has been dated to the reign of Shah Tahmasp and attributed to Aqa Mirak and Abd al-Aziz, artists at his court. The manuscript was extraordinarily large. Its miniatures depict episodes from the lives of the Old Testament prophets, Jesus, and Muhammad and his family, as well as scenes of heaven and hell. No text appears on the paintings, but inscriptions on the back of each include poetic references to the prophets and forecast the future of the person who is using the book. In this case the writing on the reverse refers to the miraj, or night ascent of the prophet Muhammad, and lists divinations said to derive from commentaries of the Greek physician Galen. A depiction of the miraj (now in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, D.C.) faced this text. Illustrated here is the story of the prophet Zakariya (a conflation of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, and the Old Testament prophet Zachariah), who according to Muslim legend died a martyr's death. Escaping his pursuers by hiding in a tree that miraculously opened to admit him, Zakariya was betrayed by Iblis, the devil, who pointed out the hem of the prophet's cloak protruding from the trunk. The devil's forces sawed the tree apart and with it Zakariya, whose saintly aura is shown as flames bursting among the leaves.ProvenanceDemotte, New York NY
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