ManuscriptsPersian16th century

Story of Iraj's Journey to Meet with His Brothers and His Death at Their Hands (text, recto and verso), folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi

1562

Description

A great part of the Shahnama is devoted to wars between the Iranians and the Turanians. The latter were descendants of Tur, son of the emperor Faridun. The conflict began when the Faridun divided his kingdom among his three sons, Salm, Tur, and Iraj. The lands of Iran and Arabia were given to the youngest son, Iraj; Salm received the western kingdom of Rum (Anatolia); and to Tur was dealt the eastern kingdom (Central Asia), named after him as Turan. In later years, Salm and Tur became jealous of Iraj, and murdered him, setting into motion the conflicts between Iran and its neighbors that drive much of the action in the Shahnama. A splendid tented enclosure provides the setting for the princely fratricide. Having knocked the crown from Iraj's head, Tur here dispatches his brother on a medallion carpet before an audience of dismayed courtiers.

Classification

Manuscripts

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Culture

Persian

Period

Safavid period

Century

16th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

37.2 x 23.6 cm (14 5/8 x 9 5/16 in.)

Provenance

[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.