Genealogy of Lady Sitting on Noah's Ark (AS), in Islamic Paintings

Abstract

One of the oldest myths among many cultures is the flood story. Since its inception, this myth has attracted the attention of artists in a variety of cultures. In most images related to the flood, a lady is among the passengers of the ark whose character and presence are in ambiguity. What is the identity of a lady sitting on Noah's Ark? The problem is that writers are trying to respond to library studies. Accordingly, we selected 29 images based on the artworks of the remaining artists from the Middle East, Ancient Egypt, Phoenicians, Christians and Muslims. We have analyzed these 29 images as statistical population through a comparative and analytical approach. The genealogy analyses of the archetype of the "Lady sitting on Noah's ark", in Islamic, Christian and prehistoric paintings show that the image from the Mesopotamia civilization is one of the oldest humanitarian archetype in the religious art and even the non-religious contemporary. Despite the religious semblance of this lady in the Muslim world, she has entered Islamic art as well. The influence and significance of this genealogy was to the extent that it entered the Shi'a world and, based on the statements from the Prophet (pbuh), the distinguished and divine character of Hazrat Fatima (sa), is shown in this template. Islam, as the last religion in the world, affirmed this myth and, with slight changes, introduced it as a major milestone in the religious history of mankind. Along with the written form and narrative of the myth, the traditional story developed from the mainstream illustration that came from Mesopotamia into Egypt, and from there into the Fynigans and Christians, and then into the Muslim world.

Keywords

• noah (as) ark
• flood myth
• noah's wife
• shiite art
• illustration