Unable to seduce her beloved, Zulaykha accuses Yusuf of attacking her. When her husband, the governor of Egypt, orders Yusuf's imprisonment, a three-month-old child miraculously proclaims Yusuf's innocence and cautions against punishing him. As in the painting, Yusuf Preaches to Zulaykha's Maidens in Her Garden, this composition is set in front of a pavilion that now serves as Zulaykha's palace. As the governor is listening to the child's testimony, Yusuf is being led out of the painting. Curiously, Zulaykha seems to be nowhere in sight. It has been suggested that she may be the woman with a feathery head ornament leaning out of the upper left window.
Provenance:
To 1946
Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962), New York. [1]
From 1946
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Hagop Kevorkian, New York. [2]
Notes:
[1] Object file, undated folder sheet note. See also, Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920, Collections Management Office.
[2] See note 1.
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
The Seven Thrones of Jami: A Princely Manuscript from Iran (June 28, 1997 to March 29, 1998)
Exhibition of Persian Art (April to May 1940)
Untitled Exhibition, Institute of Fine Arts, Detroit, 1930 (1930)
