Hunter shooting a leopard

Hunter shooting a leopard

13.3 x 17.8 cm

Gouache with gold on paper

The Anwar-i Suhaili is a Persian version of the Panchatantra, an ancient Indian collection of animal fables. A hunter has shot a leopard, which had just killed a dog, which itself had just slain a fox. This chain of carnage is observed by a pink lynx on the right, who reflects that “The actions of each, since they were based on injury to others, proved, by way of retaliation, injurious to himself.” The moral is, do no evil to others.

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