Lion Tamer c. 1610

Curator: This is "Lion Tamer," attributed to Sadiqi Beg. It's a drawing, about 15 by 24 centimeters, currently residing at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It’s stark, isn’t it? That pale ground really throws the figures into sharp relief, like a dream half-remembered. I am interested in the dynamic of power shown here. Curator: Absolutely. There’s a tension to the composition—the tamer pulling, the lion resisting, or maybe playing along. I love the ambiguity. It feels like a very modern take on control. Editor: Or the illusion of control, certainly. Who is really leading whom, when we consider the long history of exploitation enacted upon wild animals. What does it mean to tame? Curator: Well, perhaps Sadiqi Beg is asking us to ponder that very question. I think the sketch-like quality adds to that. Nothing is fully resolved, which is exciting. Editor: Indeed. It leaves space for our own interpretations, inviting us to interrogate the social dynamics at play. Curator: Leaving us, perhaps, with more questions than answers. Editor: Which is always a good thing, right?