Skip to main content

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • Collection
  • Collection Research
  • Past Exhibitions
  • Watch / Listen / Read

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Unknown Maker, Persian

Laila and Majnun at School

Maker

Unknown Maker, Persian

Culture

Persian

Title

Laila and Majnun at School

Period

Safavid

Year

ca. 1570

Medium

  • Opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Materials

ink, watercolor, gold

Supports

  • paper

Geography

Place Made: Shiraz; Origin: Iran

Dimensions

Sheet: 35.9 x 23.2 cm (14 1/8 x 9 1/8 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Edgar J. Lownes Fund

Object Number

45.069

Type

  • Paintings

Publications

  • Journal

Glimpses of Grandeur: Courtly Arts of the Later Islamic Empires

Exhibition History

Shahzia Sikander
Extraordinary Realities
Nov 12, 2021 – Jan 30, 2022

Label copy

This painting, from a copy of the manuscript Khamsa (Quintet) by the poet Nizami (1141-1209), illustrates the site where Laila and Majnun, protagonists of the story, fall in love. They are in school, surrounded by typical activities: students are preparing paper for use, exercising, reading, and writing. The architecture and patterning in Safavid-period works such as this one were among the inspirations for Sikander’s thesis painting, The Scroll.

Glimpses of Grandeur
Courtly Arts of the Later Islamic Empires
Sep 24, 1999 – Dec 26, 1999

Related Objects

No Image Available

Unknown Maker, Persian

Laila and Majnun at school
No Image Available

Unknown Maker, Persian

Laila and Majnun at school

More objects +

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Persian
Laila and Majnun at School, ca. 1570
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Sheet: 35.9 x 23.2 cm (14 1/8 x 9 1/8 inches)
Edgar J. Lownes Fund 45.069

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Main Navigation

  • Visit

    • Hours & Admission
    • Accessibility & Amenities
    • Tours & Group Visits
    • Visitor Guidelines
  • Art & Design

    • Collection Research
    • Collection
    • Past Exhibitions
  • Join / Give

    • Become a Member
    • Give
  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Events
  • Watch / Listen / Read

    • The Latest
    • Publications
    • Articles
    • Audio & Video

Footer Secondary Navigation

  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use
Tickets
Homepage
Go to the risd.edu homepage. This link will open in a new window.