ManuscriptsPersian16th century

Gudarz Pays Homage to Kay Khusraw and Shows Him the Enemy Corpses (painting, verso; text, recto), folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi

1575-1590

Description

After assuming the throne, Kay Khusraw summoned his best warriors, heroes, and chieftains to battle Afrasiyab and the Turanians. When the war was nearly won, the king came to join his forces. In the painting he and the hero Rustam appear on horseback at the left. The Iranian warrior Gudarz and his sons have dismounted, and one of them kneels in front of Rustam and Kay Khusraw. Four severed heads on the ground between the two groups and five more on spikes at upper right represent the enemy corpses mentioned in the text and offer proof of the Iranians’ success. The composition is studded with soldiers, mounted or on foot, observing the event.

Classification

Manuscripts

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Culture

Persian

Period

Safavid period

Century

16th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

42.9 x 27.1 cm (16 7/8 x 10 11/16 in.)

Provenance

[Mansour Gallery, London, 1990 or 1992], sold; to Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (1990 or 1992 - 2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.