Lot 282: A KASHMIRI MINIATURE PAINTING ILLUSTRATING JOSEPH AND JACOB, INDIA, 18TH CENTURY

A KASHMIRI MINIATURE PAINTING ILLUSTRATING THE STORY OF JOSEPH AND JACOB FROM JAMI’S YUSUF AND ZULAIKHA, INDIA, 18TH CENTURY

Miniature painting illustrates a scene from the Persian poet Jami’s Yusuf and Zulaikha. Executed in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, the composition depicts the prophet Jacob kneeling in prayer beneath a rounded tree. Jacob is shown as an elderly figure with a long white beard and a halo, wearing a large white turban and a patterned mauve-pink robe. Above him, the angel Gabriel emerges from the landscape, wearing a jewelled crown and red robe, holding out a long green staff described in the text as being made of emerald. To the left, a small child representing the young Joseph stands in a red and gold patterned robe and a crown. The scene is set against rolling hills under a blue sky, with the figures positioned on a terrace decorated with a detailed geometric carpet pattern. Two rectangular panels at the top contain Persian verses in Nasta’liq script. The right panel translates as: The father turned his face in supplication to God / He prayed for the sake of Joseph. The left panel translates as: An angel with light wings arrived from the Sidra / Holding a green staff of emerald in hand. The reverse of the frame bears several labels, including a typed French label dated May 1973 from Paris, which identifies the piece as number 71 in a catalogue titled Miniatures Orientales de l’Inde.

Provenance: Private French Collection since 1970

18 by 11cm