Captioned painting showing a busy palace courtyard. In the upper right, a prince in mint robes sits on a gold throne, attended by servants and courtiers. In the bottom right is a group of falconers. In the background is a white palace, with trees visible beyond the red brick wall.
AKM2AKM288.5, The Temptation of Material Goods, Folio from a manuscript of the Ethics of Nasir (Akhlaq-i Nasiri), Fol.113v

© The Aga Khan Museum

Beige folio page with 12 lines of black calligraphy, enclosed by a border of thin lines in gold, blue, and brown. In the upper left margin, there is a black annotation. There are stains from the painting on the reverse visible on the page
AKM288.5.fAKM288.5, The Temptation of Material Goods, Folio from a manuscript of the Ethics of Nasir (Akhlaq-i Nasiri), Fol.113r

© The Aga Khan Museum

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The Temptation of Material Goods, Folio from a manuscript of the Ethics of Nasir (Akhlaq-i Nasiri)
  • Accession Number:AKM288.5
  • Creator:Author: Nasir al-Din Tusi, Persian, 1201 - 1274
    Created for: Nasir al-Din `Abd al-Rahim
  • Place:Pakistan, Lahore
  • Dimensions:23.9 cm × 14.2 cm
  • Date:ca. 1590-1595
  • Materials and Technique:Opaque watercolour, ink and gold on paper
  • Continuing the text of the First Discourse, Section 10 and the discussion of maintaining the good condition of the soul, Nasir al-Din Tusi warns against becoming attached to material goods. As an example of the vulnerability created by the desire for precious items, he mentions the story of a ruler who was given a beautiful crystal bowl (seen in the illustration here, being offered on a tray to the enthroned king). When the bowl broke, the man was so sad over its loss that he failed to properly govern his kingdom.

    See AKM288 for an introduction to a manuscript of the Ethics of Nasir (Akhlaq-i Nasiri) and links to the other paintings within this manuscript.

    — Marika Sardar 

     

Note: This online resource is reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis. We are committed to improving this information and will revise and update knowledge about this object as it becomes available.

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