Object number1976.68.3.r
Ibrahim ibn Adham with Angels and Yogi on Blackbuck Skin
Datec. 1725-1745
Artist
Indian
(Indian, North India)
CultureIndian
MediumGouache and gold on paper
DimensionsSheet: 7 1/16 x 9 3/8 in. (17.94 x 23.81 cm)
Credit LineGift of Ruth Lamb Atkinson, class of 1918
On View
Not on viewPeriod16th c - 19th c (Mughal Period)
Classification(s)
Vassar Exhibitions
Exhibition HistoryFrances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY "Art of India: Convergance of Cultures from the Romans to the Raj" January 2 - March 18, 1997Poughkeepsie, New York, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, "India in Miniature: Works from the Permanent Collection," January 24 - April 23, 2017
Label TextBorn into luxury, the Muslim prince Ibrahim ibn Adham (c`a. 718-782) spent his early adulthood as the king of Balkh (modern Afghanistan), surrounded by the accoutrements of wealth until, according to tradition, an encounter with strangers triggered him to renounce his throne. One night, the king discovered people atop his palace, who said they were looking for a camel. When he pointed out it would be absurd for a camel to be in such a place, the visitors replied that it would be equally absurd for someone surrounded in such luxury to ever hope to truly find Allah. Realizing they were correct, Ibrahim ibn Adham left and took up an ascetic lifestyle in the forest. Shown fireside with his prayer beads and seated on an animal skin, Ibrahim ibn Adham is visited by angels, who provide him with food and drink as sustenance, representing the nourishment he was provided through strenuous religious practice.
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Indian
c. 1760-1770
Culture: Indian
Indian
Nd
Culture: Indian