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"How a Braggart was Drowned in a Well", Folio 33v from a Haft Paikar (Seven Portraits) of the Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja

Author Nizami
Calligrapher Maulana Azhar
ca. 1430
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 455
This miniature is an illustration of the most dramatic episode in the tale told by the Moorish princess in the Green Paviliion on Monday. While traversing the desert, Bashr, a good and pious man, and his bragging and evil-minded traveling companion come upon a jar filled with pure water sunk into the sand. After they have quenched their thirst, the selfish companion insists upon bathing in the water, in spite of Bashr's pleas against polluting it. The water turns out to be a deep well fed by a spring, and the heedless companion drowns. The tale ends happily for the deserving Bashr. The well is shown from two different perspectives to aid the viewer's comprehension of the scene.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "How a Braggart was Drowned in a Well", Folio 33v from a Haft Paikar (Seven Portraits) of the Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja
  • Author: Nizami (present-day Azerbaijan, Ganja 1141–1209 Ganja)
  • Calligrapher: Maulana Azhar (died 1475/76)
  • Date: ca. 1430
  • Geography: Made in present-day Afghanistan, Herat
  • Medium: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
  • Dimensions: Painting: H. 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm)
    W. 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm)
    Page: H. 11in. (27.9 cm)
    W. 7 3/16 in. (18.3 cm)
    Mat: H. 19 1/4 in. (48.9 cm)
    W. 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm)
  • Classification: Codices
  • Credit Line: Gift of Alexander Smith Cochran, 1913
  • Object Number: 13.228.13.5
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

More Artwork

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"Khusrau Seated on his Throne", Folio 64 from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja, Nizami, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
"Khusrau Seated on his Throne", Folio 64 from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja
Multiple artists/makers
dated 931 AH/1524–25 CE
"Khusrau Spies Shirin Bathing", Folio from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja, Nizami, Ink, opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper
"Khusrau Spies Shirin Bathing", Folio from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja
Nizami
16th century
"Khusrau and Shirin Conversing in Landscape at Night", Folio from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja, Nizami, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on unpolished paper
"Khusrau and Shirin Conversing in Landscape at Night", Folio from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja
Nizami
ca. 1625–30
Pages of Calligraphy from a Sharafnama (Book of Honour) of Nizami of Ganja, Nizami, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Pages of Calligraphy from a Sharafnama (Book of Honour) of Nizami of Ganja
Nizami
ca. 1620–30
Page of Calligraphy from a Sharafnama (Book of Honour) of Nizami of Ganja, Nizami, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Page of Calligraphy from a Sharafnama (Book of Honour) of Nizami of Ganja
Nizami
ca. 1620–30

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