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

citation

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

Accession Number: F1930.89

On View Location: Currently not on view

Classification(s): Manuscript

Type: Detached 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): 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

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.
Lawrence 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.
Edgar Blochet. On a Book of Kings of about 1200 A.D. vol. 41 Delhi, January 1930. pp. 2-10.
Richard Ettinghausen Ernst Kuhnel. A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present. 6 vols., London and New York, 1938 - 1939. pp.1834, 2239-40, pl. 831B.
Oleg Grabar Sheila Blair. Epic Images and Contemporary History: The Illustrations of the Great Mongol Shahnama. Chicago. p. 192, note 10.
Grace Dunham Guest. Notes on the Miniatures on a 13th Century Beaker. vol. 10 Ann Arbor. pp. 148-152, fig. 16.
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.
Freer Gallery of Art. Gallery Book II: Exhibition of August 19, 1933. Washington, August 19, 1933. .