Folio from a Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi (d.1020); Afrasiyab takes Siyavush as prisoner

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi; text: Persian in black naskhi script; illustration and text: Afrasiyab takes Siyavush as prisoner, 6 columns, 19 lines; reverse: blank; one of a group of 4 folios.
Border: The text and the painting are set in gold and black rulings mounted on a gold-sprinkled black paperboard.

Historical period(s)
Il-Khanid dynasty, early 14th century
Medium
Opaque watercolor, gold, black, and silver on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 4.8 x 12 cm (1 7/8 x 4 3/4 in)
Geography
Iran
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1931.21
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript folio

Keywords
Afrasiyab, Il-Khanid dynasty (1256 - 1353), Iran, naskh script, prisoner, Shahnama, Siyavush
Provenance

To 1931
Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962), New York to 1931 [1]

From 1931
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Hagop Kevorkian, New York in 1931 [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; illustration and text: Afrasiyab takes Siyavush as prisoner, 6 columns, 19 lines; reverse: blank; one of a group of 4 folios.
Border: The text and the painting are set in gold and black rulings mounted on a gold-sprinkled black paperboard.

Published References
  • Freer Gallery of Art. Gallery Book II: Exhibition of August 19, 1933. Washington, August 19, 1933. .
  • FIrdausi. The Shahnama of Firdausi. vol. III, London. vol. 2: p. 321, 402.
  • Marianna Shreve Simpson. The Illustration of an Epic: The Earliest Shahnama Manuscripts. Outstanding Dissertations in the Fine Arts New York and London. .
  • Grace Dunham Guest. Notes on the Miniatures on a 13th Century Beaker. vol. 10 Ann Arbor. fig. 14.
  • Edgar Blochet. On a Book of Kings of about 1200 A.D. vol. 41 Delhi, January 1930. opposite p. 4.
  • 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. cat. nos. 20, 1.
  • A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present. 15 vols., , Reissue with corrigenda and addenda. London and New York. vol. 5: 1834, vol. 7: pp. 2239, 2045, 2054, 2240, vol. 7: plate 831A.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Exhibition of 2500 Years of Persian Art. Exh. cat. Washington, 1971. cat. 14.
  • Persian Art: An Illustrated Souvenir of the Exhibition of Persian Art at Burlington House. Exh. cat. London, January - March, 1931. p. 32.
  • 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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