Rustam Defeats Barzu and Takes Him as Prisoner (painting recto; text verso of folio 250), Illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi

Manuscripts

Rustam Defeats Barzu and Takes Him as Prisoner (painting recto; text verso of folio 250), Illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi

Description

This manuscript is the first volume of a two-volume Shahnama by Firdawsi with further Shahnama inspired interpolated texts from the Garshaspnama and the Barzunama. The manuscript has 325 folios and is copied in nastaliq script. There are two illuminated panels at the beginning of the prose and poetry sections of the Shahnama. There are 34 illustrations that appear to have been painted when the manuscript was copied and 26 simple style illustrations that can be dated to a later phase. Overall, based on the style of the illustrations, illumination, and the interpolated texts, the creation of the manuscript can be attributed to the late 17th-early 18th century in Kashmir, the northern region of India under Mughal control. Later in the 19th century, the incomplete manuscript was furnished with simple style illustrations and possibly with a new illuminated panel at the beginning of the text.

Classification

Manuscripts

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

36.8 x 23.5 cm (14 1/2 x 9 1/4 in.)

Provenance

George McFadden, New York, (by 1987-1988), sold; to José M.Soriano, New York, (1988-2014), gift; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2014.

Related Artworks

Struchnos Plants (painting with text, recto and verso), from a De Materia Medica of Dioscorides

Struchnos Plants (painting with text, recto and verso), from a De Materia Medica of Dioscorides

Unknown Artist, 1224

Opaque watercolor on paper

13th centuryArab

Folio 1 from a Qur'an: Custom's Stamp (recto), Frontispiece, Fatiha (verso),

Folio 1 from a Qur'an: Custom's Stamp (recto), Frontispiece, Fatiha (verso),

Unknown Artist, c. 1727

Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper

18th centuryPersian

The Iranians Defeat the Army of Afrasiyab with the Help of Rustam (text recto; painting verso of folio 235), Illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi

The Iranians Defeat the Army of Afrasiyab with the Help of Rustam (text recto; painting verso of folio 235), Illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi

Folio 127 from a Manuscript of the Khamsa by Amir Khusraw of Delhi (d. 1325)

Folio 127 from a Manuscript of the Khamsa by Amir Khusraw of Delhi (d. 1325)

Unknown Artist, 16th century

Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper

16th centuryPersian

Illuminated Frontispiece of the Shahnama by Firdawsi (text, recto and verso), folio from a manuscript, left-hand side of a bifolio

Illuminated Frontispiece of the Shahnama by Firdawsi (text, recto and verso), folio from a manuscript, left-hand side of a bifolio

Unknown Artist, 16th century

Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper

16th centuryPersian

Battle Scene (painting, verso), Text (recto), illustrated folio (195) from a Partial Manuscript of the Zafarnama by Sharaf al-Din `Ali Yazdi

Battle Scene (painting, verso), Text (recto), illustrated folio (195) from a Partial Manuscript of the Zafarnama by Sharaf al-Din `Ali Yazdi

Unknown Artist, 16th century

Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper

16th centuryPersian

Illustrated Story of Monk Ikkyū (Ikkyū shokoku monogatari zue) in 5 Volumes

Illustrated Story of Monk Ikkyū (Ikkyū shokoku monogatari zue) in 5 Volumes

Unknown Artist, 18th-19th century

Five thread-bound books; ink on paper

18th-19th centuryJapanese

One Page from the Ksitigarbha-Bodhisattva-Pranidhana-Sutra (Sutra of the Oath of the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha)

One Page from the Ksitigarbha-Bodhisattva-Pranidhana-Sutra (Sutra of the Oath of the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha)

Prince Yi Yong (An-p'yŏng Tae-kun, Prince An-p'yŏng), probably second quarter 15th century

One section from a handscroll (or possibly one page from an accordion-fold book); gold ink on indigo-blue paper

15th centuryKorean

Timur Holding Court in a Garden (painting, verso), Text (recto), illustrated folio (34) from a Manuscript of the Timurnama by Hatifi

Timur Holding Court in a Garden (painting, verso), Text (recto), illustrated folio (34) from a Manuscript of the Timurnama by Hatifi

Unknown Artist, 1551

Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper

16th centuryUzbek

Text (recto and verso), folio from a manuscript of the Iskandar Nama of Nizami

Text (recto and verso), folio from a manuscript of the Iskandar Nama of Nizami

Unknown Artist, 16th-17th century

Ink and gold on paper

16th-17th centuryPersian

Text folio (text verso; text recto of folio 384), from a manuscript of the Khamsa by Nizami

Text folio (text verso; text recto of folio 384), from a manuscript of the Khamsa by Nizami

Unknown Artist, 1489

Ink, colors, and gold on paper

15th centuryPersian

Text (recto and verso), folio from a manuscript of the Timur Nama

Text (recto and verso), folio from a manuscript of the Timur Nama

Unknown Artist, c. 1500

Ink and gold on paper

15th-16th centuryPersian

Rustam Defeats Barzu and Takes Him as Prisoner (painting recto; text verso of folio 250), Illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi | Harvard Art Museums | KenAI