Nushirwan Listens to the Owls (recto): Illustration and Text, Persian Verses, from a Manuscript of the Khamsa of Nizami, Makhzan al-Asrar [Treasure of Secrets] (1555–65): Art, History and Details

Nushirwan Listens to the Owls (recto): Illustration and Text, Persian Verses, from a Manuscript of the Khamsa of Nizami, Makhzan al-Asrar [Treasure of Secrets] (1555–65) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This scene is from the Makhzan al-Ashrar, the first of the Quintet. Although more historically oriented than the following poems, it served more as a vehicle for moralizing tales than for historical events. In this scene Nushirwan asks the sage Buzurgmihr to explain what the owls perched on a ruined building are saying. He explains that one owl is offering the other as many ruined cities as he likes in exchange for his daughter's hand. He thus reproves Nushirwan for his love of conquest and war and the consequent destruction of many cities.

Object facts

• Title: Nushirwan Listens to the Owls (recto): Illustration and Text, Persian Verses, from a Manuscript of the Khamsa of Nizami, Makhzan al-Asrar [Treasure of Secrets]
• Date: 1555–65
• Culture: Iran, Qazvin, Safavid period (1501-1722)
• Type: Manuscript
• Technique: opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Sheet: 32.7 x 21.8 cm (12 7/8 x 8 9/16 in.); Image: 20.3 x 12.7 cm (8 x 5 in.)
• Collection: Islamic Art
• Department: Islamic Art
• Accession number: 1944.487.a

A detail from the museum

King Nushirwan is on a white horse, while his minister Buzurjmihr is riding a mule.

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.

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.