Illustration of the turtle ferrying the monkey, from a manuscript of Kalīlah wa-Dimnah thought to have been copied in India during the Gujarat Sultanate from an Egyptian source, ca. 1525–50.
Featured on PDR in the essay Travelling Tales: Kalīlah wa-Dimnah and the Animal Fable
Influencing numerous later animal tales told around the world, the 8th-century Arabic fables of Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ’s *Kalīlah wa-Dimnah* also inspired a rich visual tradition of illustration: jackals on trial, airborne turtles, and unlikely alliances between species. Marina Warner follows these stories as they wander and change across time and place, celebrating their sharp political observation and stimulating mix of humour, earnesty, and melancholy.
Also appearing in the essay…
Turtle Ferrying a Monkey
Date
ca. 1525–50
From
Kalīlah wa-Dimnah
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