Demon in chains (c. 1453): Art, History and Details

Demon in chains (c. 1453) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Muhammad Siya Qalam (Iranian).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This page once belonged to a miscellany from the library of the early Ottonian sultans. It depicts two people in nomadic garb leading a demon, or Persian div, in chains between them. The female figure holding the chain to her face is painted to look nearly as ferocious as the captured div. The concept of divs as evil supernatural creatures of mysterious origin dates to pre-Islamic Persia, but they are also described in the text of the Qur'an. Divs in Persian literature and folktales are sometimes captured and forced to use their magic to serve a king or hero.

Object facts

• Title: Demon in chains
• Date: c. 1453
• Creator attribution: Muhammad Siya Qalam (Iranian)
• Culture: Iran or Central Asia, Timurid or Turkoman Period
• Type: Manuscript
• Technique: opaque watercolor and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Image: 25.7 x 34.4 cm (10 1/8 x 13 9/16 in.); Overall: 27 x 35.2 cm (10 5/8 x 13 7/8 in.)
• Collection: Islamic Art
• Department: Islamic Art
• Accession number: 1982.63

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lee, Sherman E. “Year in Review for 1982.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 70, no. 1 (January 1983): pp. 3–55.
• Grube, Ernst J., and Eleanor Sims. Between China and Iran: Paintings from Four Istanbul Albums: a Colloquy Held 23-26 June 1980. [London]: Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, 1985.
• Neils, Jenifer. “The Twain Shall Meet.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 72, no. 6, 1985, pp. 326–359.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.