Audio: An Illustration from a Safavid Shahnama: Alexander in the Disguise of an Envoy is Recognized by Queen Nushaba

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AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A SAFAVID SHAHNAMA: ALEXANDER IN THE DISGUISE OF AN ENVOY IS RECOGNIZED BY QUEEN NUSHABA

SHIRAZ, IRAN, SECOND HALF 16TH CENTURY

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AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A SAFAVID SHAHNAMA: ALEXANDER IN THE DISGUISE OF AN ENVOY IS RECOGNIZED BY QUEEN NUSHABA
SHIRAZ, IRAN, SECOND HALF 16TH CENTURY
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, the queen is enthroned and surrounded by female attendants, Alexander sits before her and holds a portrait of himself, the scene watched by the crowd of attendants around them, the illustration between lines of text in black nasta'liq script arranged in four columns between double divisions above and below, mounted, glazed and framed
Illustration 8 1/8 x 6¾in. (20.6 x 17.3cm.) max.

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Lot Essay

The episode of Alexander's visit to the court of a queen, in the disguise of an envoy from himself, is included in various versions of the Alexander Romance. Firdawsi, following the Pseudo-Callisthenes, tells of such a visit made by Alexander to Qaidafa, queen of Andalus. Firdawsi relates it as a visit to Nushaba, queen of Barda or Bardha (from Armenian Partav in Arran, in the Caucasus).

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