A Lover’s Plea
A Lover’s Plea
Fol. 32v from a manuscript of the Divan of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza (pen-named Jahi)
Iran, Qazvin, 1582–1583
Opaque watercolour, gold, and ink on paper
AKM282.32
In Persian painting, the encounter between a male lover and his beloved — either a handsome youth or a beautiful maiden — is a widespread theme. Often, images depict the lover grasping at the skirt of his beloved, who flirtatiously attempts to flee. In this illustrated ghazal (a short poem with rhyming couplets, often about love), the poet first speaks in the voice of a lover pleading for his beloved to acknowledge his devotion, return his love, and stop causing him heartache. In the verse just above the picture, however, the poet’s voice shifts to that of the beloved, who responds: “Oh Jahi, don’t say such things, you insolent cad, have some shame!”