Folio from a Sulwan al-muta (Solace of pleasure) by Ibn Zafar; recto: text, ; verso: illustration: The horse and the boar

Object Details

Description: Folio from a dispersed copy of Sulwan al-muta by Ibn Zafar; text: Arabic in black naskh script; recto: text: 13 lines; verso: illustration and text: The horse and the boar, 3 lines; one of a group of 2 folios.
Label: The Sulwan al-muta' (Solace of Pleasure), composed in 1159 by Ibn Zafar of Sicily, is a series of animal fables illustrating the consequences of human behavior. Written as a moral and ethical guide, it relates closely to the Kalila va Dimna, one of the most frequently illustrated texts of the medieval Muslim world.; The painting relates to a story about the effects of corruption and lying. According to the text, a horse, the embodiment of the liar's soul, crosses a river. His saddle and collar swell with water and almost suffocate him. The horse asks a passing boar for help. Not satisfied with the horse's explanation for his pitiful condition, the boar considers him guilty of some wrongdoing and leaves the animal to his fate.; The text does not mention the turbaned man on the right, perhaps the narrator.
Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History: Engaging the Senses (October 14, 2017 - ongoing); Arts of the Islamic World (May 3, 1998 to January 3, 2016); Art of the Mamluks (May 14, 1981 to May 25, 1982); Art of the Arab World (May 8, 1975 to August 20, 1977); Near Eastern Art (January 1, 1963 to August 18, 1967); Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 6 and 7 (February 25, 1956 to April 10, 1962)

Related Online Resources: Google Cultural Institute
See more items in: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Topic: boar; horse; Mamluk period (1250 - 1517); man; Egypt; Arts of the Islamic World

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3b325c86e-3fdb-46cb-bcd8-7fab150cef00