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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2002.50.160
Title
Text page with title “Letter of Kay Khusraw to Fariburz” (text, recto and 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/146558

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
37 x 24 cm (14 9/16 x 9 7/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Christies, London, 17 October 1995, lot no. 79]. [Mansour Gallery, London, before 1998], sold; to Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (by 1998-2002), 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
2002.50.160
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Once Kay Khusraw assumed the throne of Iran, he launched his first military campaign against Turan to avenge the death of his father, Siyavush. With its dark sky spangled by silver stars, this painting illustrates one of the campaign's setbacks. Addled by days and nights of carousing as they celebrated initial success, the Iranian soldiers were unprepared for battle when the Turanians, led by Afrasiyab's commander-in-chief, Piran, swept down upon their camp at night. In the ensuing struggle, the Turanians destroyed two-thirds of the Iranian army.

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

Double page: Piran Attacks the Iranians at Night
A. Verso: text and illustration
Folio: 37 × 24 cm (14 9/16 × 9 7/16 in.)
2002.50.159
B. Recto: text, with title “Letter of Kay Khusraw to Fariburz”
Folio: 37 × 24 cm (14 9/16 × 9 7/16 in.)
2002.50.160

Following successful attacks on Turan by the Iranians, Afrasiyab appointed Piran to lead the Turanian army and defeat the invaders. Learning that the Iranians had let down their guard and were carousing drunkenly, Piran rallied thirty thousand soldiers and attacked their encampment in the hours of darkness, soundly defeating them. Although this painting shows the attack, its scenes of slaughter are subordinated to the beauty of the floral landscape and embellished tents and the rhythmic placement of the figures with their swinging scimitars. Sharing the restraint and delicacy of many Safavid paintings, it does not fully convey the bloody tumult and chaos that Firdawsi describes.

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), p. 230, cat. 84 A-B, ill.

Exhibition History

Related Works

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