- Provenance
- Provenance research underway.
- Description
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Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; recto: text: The departure of Ka'us and Kai Khusraw to the fire temple, 4 columns, 21 lines; verso: Illustration and text: Shah Ka'us and Kay Khusraw approach the sacred fire, 4 columns,10 lines.
Border: The text and the painting are set in gold and black rulings on cream-colored paper.
- Label
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By the latter part of the fifteenth century, the once-powerful Timurid empire was confined to the eastern frontier. Much of the central and western regions were controlled by a confederation of Turkmans. Although plagued by continuous political and military conflict, Turkman rulers, like their Timurid counterparts, actively supported the arts of the book as a means to bolster their dynastic reputation.
This illustrated folio is from a Turkman copy of the Shahnama and represents the Persian rulers Kay-Kavus and Kay-Khusraw visiting the sacred fire, a central symbol of Zoroasterism, the ancient religion of Iran. Drawing on local artistic traditions as well as Timurid aesthetic cannon, Turkman painters favored brightly colored and relatively simple compositions.
- Published References
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- James Waterson. The Ismaili Assassins: A History of Medieval Murder. London. pl. 11.
- Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, Byron Haines, Ellison Findly. The Islamic Impact., 1st ed. Syracuse. .
- Richard Ettinghausen. From Byzantium to Sasanian Iran and the Islamic World: Three Modes of Artistic Influence. The L.A. Mayor Memorial Studies in Islamic Art and Archaeology Leiden. pl. 89.
- Dr. Esin Atil. Exhibition of 2500 Years of Persian Art. Exh. cat. Washington, 1971. cat. 23, p. 8.
- Ruth Warner. Persian Delight. vol. 9, no. 1 New York, January 1958. p. 23.
- Art et Société dans le Monde Iranien. Bibliotheque Iranienne, no. 26 Paris. pp. 36-37.
- B. W. Robinson. Persian Painting and the National Epic. Annual Lecture on Aspects of Art, Henriette Hertz Trust of the British Academy London. p. 288, pl. 10, fig. 16.
- Collection Area(s)
- Arts of the Islamic World
- Web Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- SI Usage Statement
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CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)
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Usage Conditions Apply
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International Image Interoperability Framework
FS-8273_25