We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Yusuf and Zulaikha in Sufi Poetry and Safavid Silks.
- Authors
Munroe, Nazanin Hedayat
- Abstract
The romance of Yusuf and Zulaikha was codified as a Sufi allegory in Persian poetry by Abd al-Rahman Jami in 1483· Included in both the Old Testament and the Qur'an, the legend of beautiful Yusuf (Joseph) and his temptress Zulaikha are illustrated in manuscripts of Jami's Halt Awrang, a septet of epic poetry. Zulaikha, a would-be adulteress who is smitten with the young enslaved Yusuf, is mocked by the noblewomen of society until they too meet him in person and lose their senses. This recognizable event in the narrative is illustrated on both embroidered and woven textiles in the sixteenth century, at the height of Safavid luxury figural silk production, In the embroided textile, Yusuf wears a coat with a design of seated youths wearing taj Safavi, the emblem of Twelver Shi'a belief-a rare example of a figural silk textile referencing itself. In double cloth, the couple is rendered in late sixteenth-century Safavid dress surrounded by poetic verse. By dressing in figural silks depicting Yusuf and Zulaikha, the wearer indicated familiarity with Jami's narrative, setting the poetry in motion by embodying the characters. What motivated elite consumers to display this scene on garments in the sixteenth century and what does the story of Yusuf and Zulaikha indicate about the beliefs of its wearer? Through a comparison of textile techniques, paintings of the scene, passages from Jami's poetry, and primary sources from the Safavid period, this research note examines the mystic messages communicated through these precious silk textiles.
- Subjects
QUR'AN; OLD Testament; SILK; EPIC poetry; POETRY (Literary form); SILK production; SIXTEENTH century
- Publication
Textile Museum Journal, 2023, Vol 50, p104
- ISSN
0083-7407
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.7560/TMJ5006