SOUTHEAST PERSIA, LATE 19TH CENTURY

Depicting a scene from the tragic love story of Khusrow Parviz, an heir to the Ctesiphon throne, and Shirin, a Christian princess, this pictorial Lavar Kirman carpet captures the moment when they first see each other while Shirin is bathing at a lake. One poet who later recounted the story said that the image of the beautiful Shirin bathing is so touching that the "sky's eyes filled with tears." However, like many early Persian stories, this love story ends in tragedy. Khusrow is killed by his own son because he himself is in love with Shirin and once Shirin discovers that Khusrow is dead, she promptly kills herself in anguish.