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This painting depicts a scene from the cautionary tale the mother parrot tells her young to warn them that interspecies friendships, like theirs with the fox cubs, are a bad idea. She tells them that there once was a monkey who could play chess, and he enjoyed many games with a prince. When the prince invited dignitaries for a party, the monkey made a bad joke, the prince slapped him, and the monkey bit him in return. At the left, food is prepared as the guests look on in astonishment. An inscription at the bottom of the page names the artist, who went on to become one of the most celebrated Indian masters at the Mughal court.
Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Overall: 20 x 14.2 cm (7 7/8 x 5 9/16 in.); Painting only: 10.2 x 10.6 cm (4 x 4 3/16 in.)
Did you know...
Young master artist Dasavanta put a layer of cool blue color under his painting.
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Continuing a practice initiated by his father, Alexander III, Tsar Nicholas II presented this egg to his mother, the dowager empress Marie Fedorovna, on Easter 1901. The egg opens to reveal as a surprise a miniature gold replica of the palace at Gatchina, located 30 miles southwest of St. Petersburg. Built for Count Grigorii Orlov, the palace was acquired by Tsar Paul I and served as the winter residence for Alexander III and Marie Fedorovna.
Fabergé's revival of 18th-century enameling techniques, including the application of multiple layers of translucent enamel over "guilloché," or mechanically engraved gold, is demonstrated in the shell of the egg. So meticulously did Fabergé's workmaster, Mikhail Perkhin, execute the palace that one can discern such details as cannons, a flag, a statue of Paul I (1754-1801), and elements of the landscape, including parterres and trees.
H: 5 x W: 3 9/16 in. (12.7 x 9.1 cm)
medium: gold, "en plein" enamel, silver-gilding, portrait diamonds, rock crystal, and seed pearls
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Egypt, Greco-Roman period (332 BCE–395 CE), Roman empire (30 BCE–395 CE)
gold
Overall: 2.3 cm (7/8 in.)
Gift of the British School of Archaeology in Egypt
This ivory object, along with others in the Walters collection, were created by Muslim craftsmen, probably working in Palermo, Sicily, for the Christian court of the Norman rulers (11th-13th century) and were intended for personal use as containers for perfumes, cosmetics, and jewelry. Many such small boxes and coffers, decorated with typically Islamic motifs such as birds, animals, and geometric designs, eventually ended up in Europe and took on a Christian function. They were often placed on church altars to hold the Host (Communion wafer) for the Mass and sometimes were even transformed into reliquaries to contain the remains of saints. Preserved in church treasuries, these examples of secular Islamic art were admired and copied by European artists making Christian liturgical vessels.
Islamic
H: 5 1/8 x W: 4 1/2 in. (13 x 11.5 cm)
medium: Ivory (elephant tusk), gilded copper alloy fittings, copper alloy bands, black paint
style: Fatimidic [Romanesque]
culture: Islamic
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
The situla was a deluxe ritual vessel that played an important role in Egyptian religious ceremonies. The two scenes on this situla exemplify the dual roles of a pious Egyptian in the afterlife: receiving offerings from his family on the one hand and making offerings to the gods on the other. On one side of the vessel the deceased, Padiamennebnesuttawy ("He who Amen, lord of Karnak, gives"), sits in a low chair accompanied by his pet dog. The vertical, cross-shaped sign preceding the animal is his name, Nefer, meaning "good one" or "beautiful one." On the right, the deceased's eldest son, Amenhotep, makes offerings of incense and water to his father. On the other side the deceased demonstrates his piety by making an offering of round loaves of bread, vegetables, and meat to the gods. Opposite him are the gods who are the recipients of his offerings—Osiris, god of the dead; Horus, son of Isis; and Isis herself—each of whom wears elaborate beaded and feathered garments.
Egypt, Greco-Roman period (332 BCE–395 CE), Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BCE)
bronze
Diameter: 15.5 cm (6 1/8 in.); Diameter of mouth: 10.2 cm (4 in.); Overall: 28.3 cm (11 1/8 in.); with handle: 45.2 cm (17 13/16 in.)
The Charles W. Harkness Endowment Fund
7th MAY, LONDON – The London Pyramid Group meet to discuss URL Dispatch and look at how Pyramid matches URLs to views using simple pattern matching. Then having a look at some basic traversal and resource trees. See future London Pyramid Group meetups at: skillsmatter.com/user-group/ajax-ria/ldn-pyr
H. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm); Diam. 5 in. (12.7 cm); Diam. of rim 5 in. (12.7 cm); Diam. of foot 3 in. (7.6 cm)
medium: Stoneware with natural ash glaze and incised decoration (Sue ware)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY 1975.268.422 1975
The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
The depicted scene features a bearded, standing deity in a horned crown carrying a mace or staff. The deity faces a bearded, standing worshipper with one raised arm. Behind the deity is a third figure, standing with both arms raised. All three figures wear long robes. The scene also includes a cuneiform inscription in three registers.
Cylinder seals are cylindrical objects carved in reverse (intaglio) in order to leave raised impressions when rolled into clay. Seals were generally used to mark ownership, and they could act as official identifiers, like a signature, for individuals and institutions. A seal’s owner rolled impressions in wet clay to secure property such as baskets, letters, jars, and even rooms and buildings. This clay sealing prevented tampering because it had to be broken in order to access a safeguarded item. Cylinder seals were often made of durable material, usually stone, and most were drilled lengthwise so they could be strung and worn. A seal’s material and the images inscribed on the seal itself could be protective. The artistry and design might be appreciated and considered decorative as well. Cylinder seals were produced in the Near East beginning in the fourth millennium BCE and date to every period through the end of the first millennium BCE.
Babylonian
H: 13/16 x Diam: 1/2 in. (2.1 x 1.2 cm)
medium: brown and white stone
culture: Babylonian
Walters Art Museum, 1941, by purchase.
A warrior would have worn this helmet over a cloth turban. He would have been confident of being safeguarded in battle by the writing around the helmet's rim. The inscription from the Qur'an is garbled, however, indicating that its Iranian maker may not have known Arabic. Yet the presence of Arabic writing apparently was thought to be enough to invoke the protective power of God's word.
This helmet once belonged to the royal arsenal in Istanbul, Turkey. It was probably part of the war booty amassed by the Ottoman Dynasty during the many wars between Turkey and Iran. Later, it was owned by the French painter Jean-Léon Gérôme, who traveled throughout the Near East and painted many scenes of Muslim life.
Islamic
H: 15 3/16 x Diam: 9 3/16 in. (38.5 x 23.4 cm)
medium: steel, engraved and inlaid with silver
culture: Islamic
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.