Lot 145 AN ILLUSTRATED FOLIO FROM A PERSIAN EPIC, SA'DI KULLIYAT, SAFAVID, 17TH CENTURY
Gouache heightened with gold on paper, with text in Persian Nastaliq script in clouds reserved against a sprinkled gold ground, depicting a story from the first chapter of Kulliyat al-Sa'di (On the Conduct of Kings). Laid down on an album page, the margins are stylized with gilt blossoming lotus scrolls.
The poems deals about a rule of Khorasan who saw Mahmud of Sebuktigin in a dream, in such a way that his entire body had decayed and turned to dust, except for his eyes. The story and the painting about a nobleman's son who was short and humble, while his other brothers were tall and handsome. One day, the father looked upon him with disdain and contempt. The son, with wisdom and insight, responded and said: 'O father, a short, wise man is better than a tall, foolish one.T he father laughed, the government officials liked it, and the brothers were deeply offended.