Haft Aurang (Seven Thrones) of Jami

This is an illustration from Maulana Nur al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman Jami's Haft Aurang, or Seven Thrones, a collection of romantic Persian poetry, and it would have been made some time around the late fifteenth century. The image gives visual form to the culture of Persian poetry by portraying a scene of emotional intensity. We see mourners carrying a coffin, while others express their grief above. These exaggerated gestures reference those found in the culture of Persian performance, while the rich colors and decorative floral elements are typical of the Persian miniature tradition. What makes this page of the manuscript especially interesting is the way the text and the image are combined in a relationship. The words provide a narrative context, while the painting offers an emotional interpretation of the poem's themes. Understanding the social life of the poem and the image requires a deep understanding of Persian history, religion and artistic conventions. These can be studied through critical texts that focus on visual and material culture.