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The tortoise swims with the monkey king on his back, by Payāg, from Lights of Canopus (Anvār-i Suhaylī) by Ḥusayn Vā`iẓ Kāshifī

Title	The tortoise swims with the monkey king on his back, by Payāg, from Lights of Canopus (Anvār-i Suhaylī) by Ḥusayn Vā`iẓ Kāshifī
Publication Date:	c. 1595-1600
Type	Document
Language	Persian
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	Yes
Physical Dimensions	197 mm x 127 mm (height x width)
Library:	Chester Beatty
Record ID	In 04.40
Library Location	Indian collection
Date	c. 1595-1600
Notes	The tortoise swims with the monkey king on his back, by Payāg, from Lights of Canopus (Anvār-i Suhaylī) by Ḥusayn Vā`iẓ Kāshifī. Writing in a sophisticated court style, Kāshifī composed an updated version of these lively animal fables, which have a long transmission history going back to Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit texts. In this story, Kardana the wise monkey king has made a new life in exile, living on a river island, where he becomes close friends with a river tortoise. This takes a dark turn when the tortoise’s wife become suspicious of her husband’s regular absence, and doesn’t believe his explanation. She pretends to be fatally ill, telling her worried husband that the only known cure is a monkey’s heart. The tortoise invites Kardana to climb on his back, to swim across the river: once they have left shore, he glumly admits his plan to kill his friend for his heart. The monkey immediately pretends he had left his heart behind for the day, hanging in the tree. The foolish tortoise swims back, Kardana races up the fig tree, and the two are no longer friends. Folio, ink, gold and colours on paper, Persian text in nasta`liq script, with painting (on verso), from Lights of Canopus (Anvār-i Suhaylī) by Kamāl al-Dīn Ḥusayn Vā`iẓ Kāshifī (d. 1504-5), produced for the court of Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605), painting inscribed (lower left margin) as the work of (`amal) Payāg, Agra, India, undated, c. 1595-1600.
Materyal	Paper (material), Pigment (material), Ink (material), Gold
Nesne Adı	Folio / Bi-Folio (Codex)
Yazı Tipi	Nasta`liq script

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The tortoise swims with the monkey king on his back, by Payāg, from Lights of Canopus (Anvār-i Suhaylī) by Ḥusayn Vā`iẓ Kāshifī

Publication Date c. 1595-1600

Type Document

Language Persian

Digital Yes

Manuscript Yes

Physical Dimensions 197 mm x 127 mm (height x width)

Library Chester Beatty

Record ID In 04.40

Library Location Indian collection

Date c. 1595-1600

Notes The tortoise swims with the monkey king on his back, by Payāg, from Lights of Canopus (Anvār-i Suhaylī) by Ḥusayn Vā`iẓ Kāshifī. Writing in a sophisticated court style, Kāshifī composed an updated version of these lively animal fables, which have a long transmission history going back to Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit texts. In this story, Kardana the wise monkey king has made a new life in exile, living on a river island, where he becomes close friends with a river tortoise. This takes a dark turn when the tortoise’s wife become suspicious of her husband’s regular absence, and doesn’t believe his explanation. She pretends to be fatally ill, telling her worried husband that the only known cure is a monkey’s heart. The tortoise invites Kardana to climb on his back, to swim across the river: once they have left shore, he glumly admits his plan to kill his friend for his heart. The monkey immediately pretends he had left his heart behind for the day, hanging in the tree. The foolish tortoise swims back, Kardana races up the fig tree, and the two are no longer friends. Folio, ink, gold and colours on paper, Persian text in nasta`liq script, with painting (on verso), from Lights of Canopus (Anvār-i Suhaylī) by Kamāl al-Dīn Ḥusayn Vā`iẓ Kāshifī (d. 1504-5), produced for the court of Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605), painting inscribed (lower left margin) as the work of (`amal) Payāg, Agra, India, undated, c. 1595-1600.

Materyal Paper (material), Pigment (material), Ink (material), Gold

Nesne Adı Folio / Bi-Folio (Codex)

Yazı Tipi Nasta`liq script