Era: Safavid Period, Iran.
Date: 1556-1565
Possibly Kept in Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
Source: Iranian.com
This miniature is about a story in the Silsila al Dhahab (Chains of Gold), the first book of the Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones), by the poet Jami. The manuscript was written by five different scribes at Mashad, Qazvin, and Herat between 1556-1565 for Safavid Ruler Sultan Abul-Fath Ibrahim Mirza.
Jami here tells a story of a corrupt man who commits bestiality and is berated by Satan. The opening line for example reads: "the wind instrument of music -here the penis- of a depraved man became full of wind/ the howl of his carnal soul reached to the stars." He searches the desert and meadows until he finds a female camel. Since the camel refuses to kneel down, the desperate man ties two wooden supports to her hind legs. " He puts his feet there and crawled up/his 'murdi rig' attained what is desired." Jami uses the word "murdi rig" which literally means "the effects left behind by a dead person;" here it seems to be an allusion to the degree of lust that only a corrupt and thus spiritually dead person is capable of. In the conclusion Satan appears before the man and reproaches him for his treachery, for Satan is worried that those who see this act will curse him. There is a similar item here: [1]
To read more, study Rūmī and The Hermeneutics of Eroticism By Mahdi Tourage.
