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An Old Woman Asking for Alms from Khosrow
An Old Woman Asking for Alms from Khosrow
Public domain: Image courtesy of the Worcester Art Museum.

An Old Woman Asking for Alms from Khosrow

Artist/Culture (Seljuk, 1000–1199)
Date1450-1599
Mediumopaque watercolor on paper
Dimensions8.2 x 8.7 cm (3 1/4 x 3 7/16 in.)
ClassificationsNon-Western Miniatures
Credit LineBequest of Alexander H. Bullock
Object number1962.184.1
DescriptionTimurid Dynasty
Label TextThese two non-adjoining, detached pages from an unidentified manuscript of the Khamsa (Quintet), five poems composed in 1165-1203, by Nizami. The illustration is from the mystical poem entitled Treasury of Mysteries which includes twenty discourses illustrated by moral fables such as this one. Sanjar a famous Seljuk ruler, is upbraided by an old woman who complains that she is being robbed and beaten by one of his soldiers. She tells him there is not point in striving for foreign conquest when he cannot keep his own kingdom in order. The finger-to-mouth gesture of the king is a Persian artistic convention indicating surprise.ProvenanceAlexander H. Bullock, Worcester MA
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