1985.230: Faridun Attacking Zahhak (text, recto; painting, verso), illustrated folio from a Turkish translation of the Shahnama of Firdawsi

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1985.230

Title

Faridun Attacking Zahhak (text, recto; painting, verso), illustrated folio from a Turkish translation of the Shahnama of Firdawsi

Classification

Manuscripts

Work Type

manuscript folio

Date

late 16th century

Places

Creation Place: Middle East, Türkiye (Turkey)

Period

Ottoman period

Culture

Ottoman

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/215653

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Opaque watercolor and ink on paper

Dimensions

38.1 x 24.1 cm (15 x 9 1/2 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

[Hotel George V, Paris, 30 October 1975], sold; to Edwin Binney, 3rd, 1975, bequest; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1985.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Edwin Binney, 3rd Collection of Turkish Art at the Harvard Art Museums

Accession Year

1985

Object Number

1985.230

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

This illustrated folio comes from an unidentified copy of a Turkish prose translation of the Shahnama of Firdawsi. There were several prose and verse translations of the Shahnama into Turkish in the 15th-17th centuries. This folio from an unidentified version must have been produced as part of a manuscript in the late 16th century Ottoman court based on the style of the miniatures (especially architecture), use of gold, and details reflecting the Ottoman court life. The miniature follows the text closely and the title of this section is copied in red ink on the recto side. In the miniature Faridun is shown with a mace and is about to hit Zahhak who is holding with both hands onto a rope tied to the balcony railing. In the text above the miniature Zahhak is mentioned escaping with a long rope on the roof of his palace.

Publication History

• Edwin Binney III, Turkish Treasures from the Collection of Edwin Binney, 3rd, exh. cat., Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR, 1979), page 66-67/figure 37

Exhibition History

• The Edwin Binney 3rd Collection of Turkish Art at the Harvard University Art Museums, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/16/1987 - 08/02/1987
• 32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 04/26/2016 - 11/01/2016

Verification Level