The Dervish Explains the Hidden Message of Flies Trapped in Honey
The Dervish Explains the Hidden Message of Flies Trapped in Honey
Fol. 271r from a manuscript of Anvar-i Suhayli
Attributed to Sadiqi Beg (d. 1610)
Iran, Qazvin (?), 1593
Watercolours, gold, silver, and ink on paper
AKM289
Sadiqi Beg’s copy of Anvar-i Suhayli contains depictions of daily life seldom encountered in Persian painting. One such illustration portrays a humble shopkeeper welcoming a dervish with a bowl of honey as a token of respect. Flies begin to gather on the bowl; when shooed, the ones sucking up small drips of honey on the rim fly away, while others at the bowl’s centre become trapped. With a sudden flash of insight, the dervish remarks that the bowl of honey represents the world and all its delights. The flies on its rim are the contented poor who, free from greed, can escape harm; while those trapped in the centre are the greedy, who end their days in eternal misery and destruction.