Folio from a Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi (d.1020); Manuchihr’s answer to Sam’s letter

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi; text: Persian in black naskhi script; recto: blank; verso: illustration and text: Manuchihr’s answer to Sam’s letter, heading in gold, 6 columns, 14 lines; one of a group of 4 folios.
Border: The text and the painting are set in gold, black, and blue rulings on cream-colored paper.

Historical period(s)
Il-Khanid dynasty, Mongol period, early 14th century
Medium
Opaque watercolor, ink, gold, silver on paper
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 12.1 x 7.7 cm (4 3/4 x 3 1/16 in)
Geography
Probably Iran
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1930.89
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript folio

Keywords
horse, hunting, Il-Khanid dynasty (1256 - 1353), Iran, king, Manuchihr, Mongol period (1220 - 1380), polo, Rustam, Shahnama, tree, Zal
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 naskhi script; recto: blank; verso: illustration and text: Manuchihr's answer to Sam's letter, heading in gold, 6 columns, 14 lines; one of a group of 4 folios.
Border: The text and the painting are set in gold, black, and blue rulings on cream-colored paper.

Published References
  • Freer Gallery of Art. Gallery Book II: Exhibition of August 19, 1933. Washington, August 19, 1933. .
  • Richard Ettinghausen, Ernst Kuhnel. A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present. 6 vols., London and New York, 1938 - 1939. vol. 3; pp.1834, vol. 5: 2239-2240, pl. 831B.
  • A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present. 15 vols., , Reissue with corrigenda and addenda. London and New York. vol. Xii, pp. 2045, 2054.
  • Edgar Blochet. On a Book of Kings of about 1200 A.D. vol. 41 Delhi, January 1930. pp. 2-10.
  • Laurence Binyon, J.V.S. Wilkinson, Basil Gray. Persian Miniature Painting: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Miniatures Exhibited at Burlington House, January-March 1931. Exh. cat. Oxford, January - March 1931. no.19-20, pp. 42-3.
  • Marianna Shreve Simpson. The Illustration of an Epic: The Earliest Shahnama Manuscripts. Outstanding Dissertations in the Fine Arts New York and London. pp.131, 185, 280, fig. 69.
  • Grace Dunham Guest. Notes on the Miniatures on a 13th Century Beaker. vol. 10 Ann Arbor. pp. 148-152, fig. 16.
  • Oleg Grabar, Sheila Blair. Epic Images and Contemporary History: The Illustrations of the Great Mongol Shahnama. Chicago. p. 192, note 10.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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