Saint Kabir

This brush drawing dating from the late 19th century is of a type made for pilgrims or European visitors. It was collected at one of the local fairs or bazaars by John Lockwood Kipling while he was director from 1875 to 1893 of the Mayo School of Art at Lahore, in present-day north-east Pakistan. His famous son Rudyard presented it to the V&A in 1917. It depicts the weaver-saint Kabir (1440–1518) at his loom, with his wife and a musician. As well as being a weaver, Kabir was a mystic poet who influenced both Hindus and Muslims and had a profound impact on Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion. Many of his poems can be found in the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred scriptures of the Sikhs.