Artwork #2: The Lion and the Jackal

Artist: Ibn al-Muqaffa
Title: The Lion and the Jackal
Media: Ink and color on paper
Dimensions: 12.5 x 19.1 cm
Date: 1200-1220 AD

About the artist: Though it is uncertain when Ibn al-Muqaffa was born, he was murdered around 756 A.D. in Basra where he lived. He was born in Goor in the Iranian province of Fars. He lived as a translator and occasionally wrote a few stories of his own. He was murdered by the order of the second Abbasid caliph Abu Ja’far al-Mansur for heresy. According to the report, it was because he attempted to import Zoroastrian ideas into Islam. However, there is evidence that the caliph resented him for a document that he had made which was disrespectful to the caliph.

About the art: Kalila Wa Dimna was translated by Ibn al-Muqaffa from Persian to Arabic. The original story is a series of children’s Indian fables called Panchatantra. When Ibn al-Muqaffa translated it, he also added more stories as well as the illustrations. The illustration shown here is from the section of the book called, “The Separation of Friends” which contains many stories told by two jackals, one named Kalila and the other Dimna who are the retainers of the lion, the king of the forest. It tells of the friendship between king and a bull, but Dimna becomes jealous and breaks up the friendship.

What people have to say about it: In the preface of Kalila wa Dimnah, Ibn al Muqaffa mentions the reasons for paintings in his text: to provide pleasure to the reader and also to make the reader more mindful of the book’s value.

Why it was chosen: This is considered one of the oldest children’s books ever found. It contains animal fables with moral values that were often told to Indian children. The Jackal and the Lion is very simple, yet it is easy to see the fear in the lion’s face as the jackal attacks it.