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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2015.63.11
Title
Rustam Slays the White Elephant (painting recto; text verso of folio 63), Illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi
Classification
Manuscripts
Work Type
manuscript folio
Date
17th-18th century
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India
Period
Mughal period
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/350353

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Ink, colors, and gold on paper
Dimensions
36.8 x 23.5 cm (14 1/2 x 9 1/4 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
George McFadden, New York, (by 1987-1988), sold; to José M.Soriano, New York, (1988-2014), gift; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2014.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of José M. Soriano in honor of Thomas W. Lentz and in memory of Stuart Cary Welch
Accession Year
2015
Object Number
2015.63.11
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
This manuscript is the first volume of a two-volume Shahnama by Firdawsi with further Shahnama inspired interpolated texts from the Garshaspnama and the Barzunama. The manuscript has 325 folios and is copied in nastaliq script. There are two illuminated panels at the beginning of the prose and poetry sections of the Shahnama. There are 34 illustrations that appear to have been painted when the manuscript was copied and 26 simple style illustrations that can be dated to a later phase. Overall, based on the style of the illustrations, illumination, and the interpolated texts, the creation of the manuscript can be attributed to the late 17th-early 18th century in Kashmir, the northern region of India under Mughal control. Later in the 19th century, the incomplete manuscript was furnished with simple style illustrations and possibly with a new illuminated panel at the beginning of the text.

Related Works

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or 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