Black and White Bird Perched on a Shrub
1651–52
Medium
opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
image: 7.7 × 13.4 cm · sheet: 16.1 × 25 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
Accession Number
1971.84
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
In Iran between the 1630s and 1650s, the court painter Shafi’ ‘Abbasi, son of the renowned painter Riza ‘Abbasi, specialized in a new fashion depicting naturalistic plants and birds, some adapted from European sources such as botanical engravings or herbals. Several have been identified as patterns for textiles, evidenced by pricked holes along the contours, which allowed designs to be transferred to another surface. The inscription indicates that Shafi’ ‘Abbasi made this painting for Shah Abbas...