Folio from a Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi (d.1020); recto: The sealed casket of Nushirwan brought to Hurmuzd, Khusraw Parviz’s justice; verso: text, Saveh Shah attacks Hormuzd

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi; text: Persian in black nasta’liq script; recto: illustration and text: The sealed casket of Nushirwan brought to Hurmuzd, Khusraw Parviz’s justice, heading in red; verso: text: Saveh Shah attacks Hormuzd, heading in gold, 4 columns, 25 lines; one of a group of 3 folios.
Border: The painting is set in gold and blue rulings on cream-colored paper. The text is set in gold rulings on cream-colored paper.

Historical period(s)
early 15th century
Medium
Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 10.8 x 15.5 cm (4 1/4 x 6 1/8 in)
Geography
Iran
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1930.49
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript folio

Keywords
epic, funerary, Iran, Nushirvan, Shahnama
Provenance

To 1930
Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962), New York to 1930 [1]

From 1930
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Hagop Kevorkian, New York in 1930 [2]

Notes:

[1] Object file, undated folder sheet note. See also Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, Collections Management Office.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Hagop Kevorkian 1872-1962

Description

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; recto: illustration and text: The sealed casket of Nushirwan brought to Hurmuzd, Khusraw Parviz's justice, heading in red; verso: text: Saveh Shah attacks Hormuzd, heading in gold, 4 columns, 25 lines; one of a group of 3 folios.
Border: The painting is set in gold and blue rulings on cream-colored paper. The text is set in gold rulings on cream-colored paper.

Published References
  • Fatemeh Chehregosha Azinfar. Atheism in the Medieval Islamic and European World: The Influence of Persian and Arabic Ideas of Doubt and Skepticism on Medieval European Literary Thought. Bethesda. front cover.
  • B. W. Robinson. Fifteenth-Century Persian Painting: Problems and Issues. Hagop Kevorkian Series on Near Eastern Art and Civilization New York. p. 70.
  • Abolqasem Ferdowsi. The Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings. New York. p. 723.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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