Index Magazine

Staff Picks: Curatorial Fellow Shiva Mihan’s Favorite Works of Art

May 26, 2020
Index Magazine

Staff Picks: Curatorial Fellow Shiva Mihan’s Favorite Works of Art

A woman with long dark hair wearing a blue shirt stands facing a framed blue and gold manuscript folio. She is holding a magnifying glass. Another framed manuscript page is positioned on the wall behind her.

Curatorial fellow Shiva Mihan carries out research on illustrated manuscripts in the Islamic art collection at the Harvard Art Museums. Here she invites us to take a closer look at two folios from two different manuscripts of the Shahnama (Book of Kings). She first explores the intricate beauty of the calligraphy and floral designs of an introduction to one manuscript before showing us a riveting battle scene in another. 

Speaker:
Shiva Mihan, Schroeder Curatorial Fellow, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art 

Works Explored:
Introduction to the Shahnama (illuminated text, recto; text, verso); folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi, Persian, Safavid period, 1562. Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper. Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, 2002.50.27. 

Rustam and the Iranian Army Besiege the Fortress of Kafur the Cannibal (painting, recto; text, verso); folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama of Firdawsi, Persian, Inju period, 1341. Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper. Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, 1960.195.

 

Related articles

A three-image montage shows a red rug with colorful designs; a brown rubbing of a gravestone with text and an angel; and a painting of a dark-skinned man in a white shirt leaning against a carved door frame.

Collections in Motion: What’s New on View

Our galleries are ever-changing, with new installations occurring each month throughout the museums. This fall, we’re welcoming rarely seen works of art into our galleries and celebrating diverse materials and styles. 

Four students, with their backs to the camera, look at a large rectangular photograph of an older woman in a yellow coat, walking across a city street.

Fostering Museum Literacy and Museum-Going Identity at the Harvard Art Museums

Two staff members from our Division of Academic and Public Programs discuss how the museums foster museum literacy and a sense of welcome among student visitors.

A woman in a white shawl standing next to a drawing displayed within a glass case.

Artworks in Honor of Director Martha Tedeschi’s Tenure

Upon director Martha Tedeschi’s departure after eight years of leadership, gifts of art were made in her honor.