Calligraphy panel

Dateearly 17th century

Label TextFlowers, including chrysanthemums and lilies, bloom within the frame of the calligraphy and the panel’s outer border. The calligraphic inscription is thus “planted” in the center of the page with sprouting leaves and flowers, evoking a garden. The Persian couplets also make reference to floral growth through the language of spring (bahar). While gardens can invoke paradise, here the garden alludes to a lover’s sanctuary. Throughout the poem, night (shām/shafaq) and morning (subh/sahar) are contrasted: ruby redtwilight versus the white pearl of dawn. This duality of day and night echoes the union of a man and woman, referenced in the poem’s first line (mardān and zan), and reinforces the idea of the garden as a lover’s abode.

Object number44.39

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Bumbershoot Festival, Seattle Center, Aug. 1975. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Luminous: The Art of Asia, Oct. 13, 2011 - Jan. 8, 2012 Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing [on view beginning Jan. 20, 2023].

Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection

Dimensions9 x 4 1/8 in. (22.9 x 10.5 cm)

MediumInk, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper