Sultan Ibrahim ibn Adham of Balkh Visited by Angels, c. 1740
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Sultan Ibrahim ibn Adham of Balkh Visited by Angels

c. 1740

Medium
gum tempera and gold on paper
Classification
Painting
Dimensions
Page: 24.2 x 32.8 cm (9 1/2 x 12 15/16 in.); Miniature: 17.2 x 25.7 cm (6 3/4 x 10 1/8 in.)
Culture
Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Bundi
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Credit line
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Rights
Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed

View at the Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

Sultan Ibrahim ibn Adham was the King of Balkh in present-day Afghanistan, born around 730, but later abdicated his throne to take up ascetic life in Syria. Sufi legends claim that Ibrahim in the wilderness was fed by angels. In the painting, Ibrahim can be seen in a cave and meditating under a tree, while five angles appear in front of him.