A White-eared Bulbul; Lovers in a Garden

Date1629 - 1635

Attributed to Riza Abbasi Persian, c. 1565 - 1635

Label TextA songbird, most likely a species from the tits family of birds, rests on mossy rocks. The calligraphic border tells us that this folio is from a muraqqa, a patchwork-like album assembled with alternating pages of paintings, drawings, and calligraphies. This page contains two paintings: a bird and an amorous couple with an attendant figure. In Persian poetry and painting, a songbird, usually referred to as a bulbul, cultivates an amorous mood, its melodious notes causing listeners to experience dizzying effects. The presence of the songbird, along with the fact that the couple are enjoying libations in a garden, suggests an intoxicating atmosphere.

In this Persian miniature, two lovers enjoy themselves in a garden landscape. An elegantly clad man caresses a woman's face as an attendant holds out cups for them. The golden background and abstracted blue clouds give the landscape a dreamlike quality. The garden is not real but an idealized, perfect setting where the lovers dally. Like the garden the couple inhabits, the landscape depicted in the borders is a mythical, fantastic forest: birds soar, rabbits run, and predators such as leopards and wolves stalk their prey.

A third landscape is painted above the heads of the lovers. Here a realistically depicted bird rests on a rocky outcropping. A small tree and plants are illuminated in gold. Nature plays center stage in this minutely detailed image. Persian painting, unlike Mughal painting, is not known for its interest in naturalistic detail. However, the art world in the seventeenth century was truly international, and Western European and Mughal influences on Persian painting might have encouraged artists to create images that reflected the natural world around them.

Object number50.111

ProvenanceMrs. Donald E. Frederick to Seattle Art Museum, 1950

Photo CreditPhoto: Paul Macapia

Exhibition HistoryUtah, Provo, Brigham Young University, Beauty and Belief: Crossing Bridges with the Arts of Islam, Feb. 24, 2012 - Sept. 29, 2012. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing [on view July 16 - Dec. 5, 2021].Published References"Handbook, Seattle Art Museum: Selected Works from the Permanent Collections." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1951, cover and frontispiece (color) "Mostra d'arte Iranica (Exhibition of Iranian Art)." Rome: Palazzo Brancaccio, 1956, p. 278, no. 522, pl. on p. 272 Nakai, Ghods. Sept Mille Ans d'Art en Iran. Paris: Petit Palais, 1961; p. 198, no. 1109. Rogers, Millard B. "Engagement Book: Iranian Art in the Seattle Art Museum." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1972, fig. 46. "Selected Works." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1991, p. 140 Emami, Farshid. "All the City's Courtesans: A Now-Lost Safavid Pavilion and Its Figural Tile Panels." Metropolitan Museum Journal Volume #54: pp. 62-86, reproduced fig. 7.

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Donald E. Frederick

Dimensions13 5/16 x 8 3/4 in. (33.8 x 22.3 cm)

MediumAlbum page; opaque watercolor, ink, gold and silver on paper