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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2002.50.28
Title
Wedding Celebration of Zal and Rudaba (painting, recto; text, verso), folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi
Classification
Manuscripts
Work Type
manuscript folio
Date
1562
Places
Creation Place: Middle East, Iran, Shiraz
Period
Safavid period
Culture
Persian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/165463

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
37.2 x 23.9 cm (14 5/8 x 9 7/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Christies, London, 17 October 1995, lot no. 79]. [Mansour Gallery, London, before 1997], sold; to Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (by 1997-2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art
Accession Year
2002
Object Number
2002.50.28
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
This festive painting depicts the marriage of the Iranian prince Zal to Rudaba, daughter of Mihrab, the king of Kabul. The vibrantly colored and dynamically composed scene is filled with lively vignettes, including a circle of female musicians and dancers who wave their long sleeves as they circle in front of the newly wedded couple. The palace interior is brightly tiled in various geometric patterns. In the lower left corner, Mihrab, in the company of Zal’s father, Sam, is about to join the celebratory party. The numerous torches and candles held by attendants and servants indicate that the event takes place at night.

Published Catalogue Text: In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art , written 2013
78 A–B

Double page: The Marriage of Zal and Rudaba
A. Verso: text, with title “The wedding feast of Zal and Rudaba”
Folio: 37.2 × 23.6 cm (14 5/8 × 9 5/16 in.)
2002.50.129
B. Recto: text and illustration
Folio: 37.2 × 23.9 cm (14 5/8 × 9 7/16 in.)
2002.50.28

This festive painting depicts the marriage of the Iranian prince Zal to Rudaba, daughter of Mihrab, the king of Kabul. The vibrantly colored and dynamically composed scene is filled with lively vignettes, including a circle of female musicians and dancers who wave their long sleeves as they circle in front of the newly wedded couple. The palace interior is brightly tiled in various geometric patterns. In the lower left corner, Mihrab, in the company of Zal’s father, Sam, is about to join the celebratory party. The numerous torches and candles held by attendants and servants indicate that the event takes place at night.

Mika M. Natif

Publication History

  • Mary McWilliams, ed., In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, exh. cat., Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2013), pp. 125-127, ill.; p. 226, cat. 78 A-B, ill.
  • Penley Knipe, Katherine Eremin, Marc Walton, Agnese Babini, and Georgina Rayner, Materials and Techniques of Islamic Manuscripts, Heritage Science, Heritage Science (https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-018-0217-y, 2018), 6, 55, Figure 10 a-b, Page 22

Exhibition History

Related Objects

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu