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Object Number

2002.50.12

Title

Isfandiyar Captures Gurgsar in Combat (text, recto; painting, verso), illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi

Classification

Manuscripts

Work Type

manuscript folio

Date

c. 1340

Places

Creation Place: Middle East, Iran, Shiraz

Period

Inju period, 1303-1357

Culture

Persian

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/149493

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Dimensions

37.1 x 29.3 cm (14 5/8 x 11 9/16 in.)

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art

Accession Year

2002

Object Number

2002.50.12

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

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Description

Recto. Text tells the story of Isfandiyar seeing his brother and his arrival in the mountains near Gushtasp. Subtitles in the text of this folio read, "Arrival of Isfandiyar to converse with this father;" Arjasp is informed of the release of Isfandiyar." Text corresponds with M. Ramazani (1963) vol. 3, pp. 249-51, lines 5946-6035. Ramazani subtitle reads, "Isfandiyar arrives in the mountains near Gushtasp." Text corresponds with J. Mohl (1976), vol. 4, pp. 470-76, lines 1321-1405. Mohl subtitle reads, "Isfendiar arrive dans la montagne, auprès de Guschtasp."

Verso. Subtitles in the text of this folio read, "Battle between Arjasp and Isfandiyar;" "Capture of Gurgsar by Isfandiyar." Gurgsar is the name of a champion of Turan. Text corresponds with M. Ramazani (1963) vol. 3, pp. 253-56, lines 6036-6113. Ramazani subtitle reads, "Battle between Isfandiyar and Arjasp and the escape of Arjasp." Text corresponds with J. Mohl (1976), vol. 4, pp. 476-82, lines 1406-1468.

Commentary

Prince Isfandiyar, son of Shah Gushtasp, led the Iranian army to victory against the Turanians commanded by Gurgsar. The fight between the two champions ended when Isfandiyar caught Gurgsar in a lariat and pulled him to the ground. In its figural style, treatment of ground line, and shallow space, this fourteenth-century painting recalls the decorative conventions of Seljuk ceramics. The figures are arrayed symmetrically in a frieze format, and loosely drawn foliage fills the background.

Published Catalogue Text: In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art , written 2013
63

Isfandiyar Captures Gurgsar in Combat
Folio from a manuscript of the Shāhnāma by Firdawsi
Recto: text
Verso: text and illustration, with titles “Battle between Arjasp and Isfandiyar” and “Capture of Gurgsar by Isfandiyar”
Iran, Shiraz, Inju period, 1341
Black ink, gold, and opaque watercolor on beige paper
Folio: 37.1 × 29.3 cm (14 5/8 × 11 9/16 in.)
2002.50.12

Published: McWilliams 2002a, 14, fig. 7.

As related in Firdawsi’s Shāhnāma, the mighty Isfandiyar, son of King Gushtasp, led the Iranian army to victory against the Turanians, commanded by Gurgsar. The fight between the two champions ended when Isfandiyar lassoed Gurgsar and pulled him to the ground. In its figural style, treatment of ground line, and restricted space, this fourteenth-century painting recalls the aesthetic conventions of Iranian mīnāʾī and luster ceramics (see, for instance, cats. 27 and 30). The figures are arrayed symmetrically in a frieze, and loosely drawn foliage fills the background. This folio was part of a now-dispersed illustrated Shāhnāma commissioned in 1341 by the vizier of the Inju governor in Fars.[1]

Mika M. Natif

[1] According to M. S. Simpson 2000, 241. Another folio from this manuscript, unlocated at the time of Simpson’s reconstruction, is currently in the Harvard Art Museums (2011.493).

Mary McWilliams, "With Quite Different Eyes: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art", Apollo, ed. David Ekserdjian (November 2002), vol. CLVI no. 490, pp. 12-16, p. 14, fig. 7

Mary McWilliams, ed., In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, exh. cat., Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2013), p. 215, cat. 63, ill.

Closely Focused, Intensely Felt: Selections from the Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/07/2004 - 01/02/2005

In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/31/2013 - 06/01/2013

32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/08/2017 - 04/19/2018

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