Name/Title
[Ottoman Miniature]Entry/Object ID
2009.140Description
Information from scholar John Wood
..the miniature in question are most certainly from an Ottoman context, 17th or perhaps 18th century. The painting style is also from that cultural area and period; i.e., the script though Arabic is also an Ottoman hand. As for the nature of the composition that these pages are taken from, as I said before the language is Arabic and seems to deal with matters of the interpretation of prophetic tradition (hadith). The texts are quite clearly written and any of the Arabic faculty at DePaul?Khalid Keshk or Ahmad Hashim?should be able to translate them for you. More curious to all of us is the placement of the notes and comments around and even on top of the miniatures?were the miniatures painted first and the surrounding texts added later? Because of this form I was led the think at first that this might be an augury (fal) or apocalyptic text. As I mentioned before the figure on the right is a Ottoman Turkish janissary peering out of a window in a cityscape while I have no idea about the Arab on the left with the she camel and foal.
__________________
John Woods, Pick Hall 115
5828 S. University Ave.
(773) 702-8343
j-woods@uchicago.eduArtwork Details
Medium
pigment on parchment paperAcquisition
Notes
Collection of DePaul Art Museum, gift of Abraham HofferMade/Created
Notes
Creation Date: 17th or 18th centuryEthnography
Notes
Asia
Iran
Persian
Turkey
OttomanInscription/Signature/Marks
Type
InscriptionLocation
TTranscription
30Material/Technique
graphiteType
InscriptionLocation
VersoTranscription
[farsi script]Material/Technique
pigmentDimensions
Dimension Description
sheetWidth
6-1/8 inLength
8-3/4 inExhibition
Dianna Frid and Richard Rezac: Split ComplimentaryInterpretative Labels
Label
Untitled [Persian Miniature]
Unidentified artist
n.d.
Farsi script and a small illustration of a man with 2 camels. Farsi script also on verso.