Mohammad Ehsai

Shams Gallery, Tehran (acquired directly from the artist)

Condition: This work is in good condition. There are very minor rubbing marks on bottom left corner. The gold leaf has very lightly rubbed off on top left, centre left and centr. There is a very light stable hairline craqulure on top right. There are very minor surface imperfections inherent of the artist's working process.
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A couplet by the Persian poet Hafiz

"The sanctuary of love has a threshold beyond reason
The person who kisses that threshold is the one who is prepared to
risk his life"

A rare and important example of Ehsai's work that is inspired by the Persian lyric poet Hafiz, rather than the graphic letter form.

The genius of Hafiz is still widely recognised today, mainly thanks to the lasting impact of his literary innovation. He was responsible for developing the 'song of love', as the ghazal is known, into its accepted form. It is now an established genre of Arabic poetry, having infiltrated the other classical languages of the medieval Islamic empire including Turkish, Persian and Urdu, in whose literary traditions the ghazal can now be found. Hafiz was a linguistic and literary craftsman who revolutionised poetry in the Islamic lands, becoming one of its pre-eminent and most distinguished poets, and whose works have been described variously as 'exquisite' and 'sublime'.

Love and passion, although not Qur'anic themes, have attained substantial importance in mysticism and Arabic secular literature. Many of Islam's epic poems deal with unrequited love and its attendant madness, as well as the beauty of true love, passion and faithfulness. All the great theologians, poets and artists have made statements on the varying degrees and manifestations of love and it is no wonder that Ehsai drew on Hafiz for inspiration. The flame red, gold and black are the perfect foil for the couplet, and are a powerful visual reminder of the ghazal, the 'song of love'.