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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2002.50.167
Title
The Iranians Repel Afrasiyab’s Night Attack (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/146572

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
37.3 x 24 cm (14 11/16 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
2002.50.167
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
The war between Iran and Turan continued, finally bringing about the defeat of Afrasiyab’s forces by those of Kay Khusraw.
This illustration shows Rustam, who can be identified by his animal-skin garb, helping rout the Turanians, while Afrasiyab looks on in consternation, his emotion indicated by his finger-to-mouth gesture. This painting falls within the textual description of a night attack by the Turanians, although it depicts a daytime event. Despite the overall delicacy and refinement of the Safavid style, the artist has convincingly conveyed the gruesomeness of combat by littering the flowery landscape with dismembered bodies and severed heads.

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

Double page: The Iranians Repel Afrasiyab’s Night Attack
A. Verso: text, concerning the battle between Afrasiyab and Kay Khusraw
Folio: 37.1 × 24.1 cm (14 5/8 × 9 1/2 in.)
2002.50.168
B. Recto: text and illustration
Folio: 37.3 × 24 cm (14 11/16 × 9 7/16 in.)
2002.50.167

The war between Iran and Turan continued, finally bringing about the defeat of Afrasiyab’s forces by those of Kay Khusraw. This illustration shows Rustam, who can be identified by his animal-skin garb, helping rout the Turanians, while Afrasiyab looks on in consternation, his emotion indicated by his finger-to-mouth gesture. This painting falls within the textual description of a night attack by the Turanians, although it depicts a daytime event. Despite the overall delicacy and refinement of the Safavid style, the artist has convincingly conveyed the gruesomeness of combat by littering the flowery landscape with dismembered bodies and severed heads.

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. 85 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