BAHRAM GUR IN THE RED PAVILION
THE COLLECTION OF PAUL RICHARD LOEWI (1879-1939) AND HIS DAUGHTER ERICA (1918-1996)
BAHRAM GUR IN THE RED PAVILION

SAFAVID QAZVIN, CIRCA 1590

Details
BAHRAM GUR IN THE RED PAVILION
SAFAVID QAZVIN, CIRCA 1590
illustration from the Khamsa of Nizami Ganjavi, opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, four columns of black nasta'liq above and below with heading in red nasta'liq against a gold ground, set within gold and polychrome rules, cropped and mounted on blue card
Painting 10 1⁄2 x 8 1⁄8in. (26.7 x 20.4cm.); folio 15 1⁄2 x 11 1⁄4in. (39.4 x 28.5cm.)

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Lot Essay


On Tuesday Bahram Gur listens to the story of the daughter of the King of the Fourth Clime, the Slavic Princess. The red signifies the pavilion of the planet Mars, with “Mars” being the name-day of Bahram and, fittingly for this wordplay, the Princess tells a tale of riddles. The tale of the Haft Paykar ran the risk of being tiresome and repetitive for artists, and here the painter has decided to innovate and incorporate the text block into the architecture of the scene.
Like the previous two lots, the pavilion is suitably regal with the couple seated on beautiful carpets with all manner of gold and porcelain items scattered around. A number of attendants surround the couple, whilst the hajib is again shown guarding the door.

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