Khusraw at the castle of Shirin, from a manuscript of the Khusraw and Shirin by Nizami (d.1209), recto: illustration: Khusraw at the castle of Shirin; verso: text

Detached folio from the Khusraw u Shirin by Nizami; text: Persian in black nasta’liq script with headings in white and gold; recto: illustration: Khusraw at the castle of Shirin; verso: text, 4 columns, 25 lines; one of a group of 7 detached folios (F1931-37) from the manuscript (F1931.29) and the book binding (F 1931.30); accessioned separately.
Binding: The painting and the text are set in gold, green and blue rulings on gold-sprinkled paper.

Maker(s)
Calligrapher: Ali ibn Hasan al-Sultani
Historical period(s)
Jalayirid period, ca. 1400
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W (painting): 25.8 × 18.4 cm (10 3/16 × 7 1/4 in)
Geography
Iran, Tabriz
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1931.36
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript folio

Keywords
castle, garden, Iran, Jalayirid dynasty (1340 - 1432), Khusraw, nasta'liq script, night, Shirin
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 the Khusraw u Shirin by Nizami; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script with headings in white and gold; recto: illustration: Khusraw at the castle of Shirin; verso: text, 4 columns, 25 lines; one of a group of 7 detached folios (F1931-37) from the manuscript (F1931.29) and the book binding (F 1931.30); accessioned separately.
Binding: The painting and the text are set in gold, green and blue rulings on gold-sprinkled paper.

Label

The Khamsa, or Quintet, by Nizami ranks among the great masterpieces of Persian literature. The romance of Khosraw and Shirin, one of the five poems that constitute the Khamsa, narrates the adventures of the Sasanian king Khusraw Parviz and the Armenian princess Shirin. Attributed to the early fifteenth century, the Freer Khamsa is one of the earliest known illustrated copies of this work. 

Khosraw at the Gate of Shirin's Castle is among the most poignantly expressive manuscript paintings of the fifteenth century.  Displeased with Khosraw's behavior and his marriage to another woman, Shirin has withdrawn to her castle. Following the death of his queen, Khosraw repeatedly attempts to see Shirin, who finally yields to his request. Shielded by the royal umbrella and standing on precious brocades and carpets, the king gestures in supplication toward Shirin, who gazes down from a window in her castle. Although the text specifies that Khosraw visited Shirin at dawn in the dead of winter, the artist has situated the reconciliation in a lush garden setting softly illuminated by a waning moon. 

The elegant, mustachioed Khosraw in these paintings bears a striking resemblance to known depictions of the Timurid patron Baysunghur Mirza (1399-1434).

Published References
  • Freer Gallery of Art. Gallery Book II: Exhibition of August 19, 1933. Washington, August 19, 1933. .
  • Priscilla P. Soucek. Illustrated Manuscript of Nizami's "Khamseh" 1386-1482. 2 vols. Ann Arbor. pl. 79.
  • Regina L. Shoolman, Charles E. Slatkin. The Enjoyment of Art in America: A Survey of the Permanent Collections of Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics & Decorative Arts in American and Canadian Museums: Being an Introduction to the Masterpieces of Art from Prehistoric to Modern Times. Philadelphia and New York. pl. 100.
  • B. W. Robinson. Fifteenth-Century Persian Painting: Problems and Issues. Hagop Kevorkian Series on Near Eastern Art and Civilization New York. p. 4.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Exhibition of 2500 Years of Persian Art. Exh. cat. Washington, 1971. cat. 22, p. 8.
  • Barbara Brend. Muhammad Juki's Shahnamah of Firdausi. London. pp. 18-19, pl. 11.
  • Schuyler Cammann. Ancient Symbols in Modern Afghanistan. vol. 2 Washington and Ann Arbor, 1957. p. 21, pl. 4, fig. 10.
  • Ellen Roberts, Samantha Niederman. O'Keefe, Stettheimer, Torr, Zorach: Women Modernists in New York. West Palm Beach, Florida. p. 30, fig. 10.
  • B. W. Robinson. Persian Drawings from the 14th through the 19th Century. Drawings of the Masters New York. p. 39.
  • Ernst Kuhnel. Persische Miniaturmalerei. Meisterwerke Aussereuropaischer Malerei Berlin. p. 42.
  • Deborah E. Klimberg Salter. A Sufi Theme in Persian Painting: The Diwan of Sultan Ahmad Gala in the Freer Gallery of Art. vol. 11 Wiesbaden, 1976-1977. pp. 48, 50.
  • A. T. Adamova. Mediaeval Persian Painting: The Evolution of an Artistic Vision. Biennial Ehsan Yarshater Lecture Series, no. 3 New York. p. 54.
  • Oleg Akimushkin, Priscilla P. Soucek. The Arts of the Book in Central Asia: 14th - 16th Centuries. London and Paris. pp. 106, 117, pl. 33.
  • Ideals of Beauty: Asian and American Art in the Freer and Sackler Galleries. Thames and Hudson World of Art London and Washington, 2010. pp. 126-127.
  • et al. The Heritage of World Civilization. combined volume, , 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. p. 258.
  • Mehmet Aga-Oglu. The Khusrau wa Shirin Manuscript in the Freer Gallery. vol. IV Ann Arbor. pp. 479-481, fig. 5.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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