Folio 313 (text, recto and verso), from a manuscript of the Divan (Collection of Works) of Anvari

The recto and verso side of the folio features two columns of Persian text written in black ink and nasta’liq script. The recto side has two horizontal breaks, while the verso has one. The recto side contains the end of a qit‘a in which the poet asks for a pair of sandals and a qit‘a about contentment and freedom. The verso side contains a qit‘a (fragment) entitled, “Complaint About His Contemporaries”, which corresponds to a painting (1960.117.314): A fox was running, grieving for his life Another fox saw him in such a state And asked: “Please tell me, brother, what is wrong?” He said: “The king is hunting donkeys here!” “But you are not a donkey – so why fear?” He answered: “That is right; but oh!, these men; They do not know and they cannot discern They think that fox and donkey are the same!” The folio belongs to an illustrated copy of the Divan of Anvari commissioned by the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) in 1588 and in Lahore. The poet Anvari (1126-1189) is considered one of the greatest figures in Persian literature. His panegyric in honor of the Seljuq sultan, Ahmad Sanjar (r. 1118-1157) earned him royal favor and the patronage of two of Sanjar’s successors. Anvari’s poems were collected in a Divan, which contains eulogies, satire, panegyrics, and other forms of poetry and prose.