The Feeding of Zahhak’s Serpents (painting recto; text verso of folio 27), illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi
17th-18th century
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.
Dimensions
36 x 23 cm (14 3/16 x 9 1/16 in.)
Provenance
George McFadden, New York, (by 1987-1988), sold; to José M.Soriano, New York, (1988-2014), gift; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2014.
Related Artworks
View MoreInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
17th centuryPersianOne of two handscrolls; ink on paper with vermillion marks
13th centuryJapaneseInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
17th centuryPersianFive thread-bound books; ink on paper
18th-19th centuryJapaneseThread-bound manuscript; ink on decorated paper
13th centuryJapaneseInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
17th centuryPersianAccordion-fold book; ink, color and gold on paper
17th centuryJapaneseInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
17th centuryPersianLacquer with gold
16th-17th centuryPersianThe forty-second of a series of 54 backing sheets mounted in an album; ink and color on paper
16th centuryJapaneseInk and gold on paper
15th centuryPersianInk, colors, and gold on paper
16th century