A woman mistakes a cow for the Angel of Death, from a Lights of Canopus (Anwar-i Suhaili) of Kashifi (Iranian, d. 1504) c. 1610 Mughal India, reign of Jahangir Gum tempera on paper Painting: 19.7 x 10.2 cm (7 3/4 x 4 in.); Framed: 38.1 x 26.7 cm (15 x 10 1/2 in.) Gift of Michael Silver and Deborah Lader in memory of Rabbi Daniel Jeremy Silver 2019.81 DID YOU KNOW? A previous owner identified the scene as the first cesarean section. DESCRIPTION When a cow who got her head stuck in a pot accidentally entered a woman’s yard, the woman mistook her for the Angel of Death and begged that her sick daughter be taken, instead of herself. The moral of the story is that, when tested, people put themselves first. The story comes from an Indian fable, translated into Persian, and illustrated for the imperial Mughal court. INSCRIPTION walida-i-rustam INSCRIPTION TRANSLATION 'The Mother of Rustam' INSCRIPTION REMARK inscription in the back of the painting INSCRIPTION Zal INSCRIPTION REMARK The short inscription on the drawing is the identification of the elderly gentleman as Zal, Rustam's father. PROVENANCE ?-1981 (Spink & Sons, London, ?-1981, sold to Rabbi Silver, a former trustee of the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1981- Rabbi Daniel Jeremy Silver and Mrs. Adele Z. Silver, Cleveland, OH, 1981-?, by descent to their son, Michael Silver ?-2019 Michael Silver and Deborah Lader, ?-2019, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art 2019-present The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2019-present