AN ILLUSTRATED FOLIO FROM A SHAHNAMA
AN ILLUSTRATED FOLIO FROM A SHAHNAMA
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PROPERTY OF A SWISS LADY
AN ILLUSTRATED FOLIO FROM A SHAHNAMA

TIMURID SHIRAZ, IRAN, FIRST HALF 15TH CENTURY

Details
AN ILLUSTRATED FOLIO FROM A SHAHNAMA
TIMURID SHIRAZ, IRAN, FIRST HALF 15TH CENTURY
Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper with 11ll. of black nasta'liq above and one below arranged in four columns, added illuminated sura heading above from a Safavid Qur'an, pasted onto plain card margins, set within gold and blue rules, the verso plain
Text panel 8 1/8 x 5 ¼in. (20.5 x 13.5cm.); folio 13 ¼ x 7 5/8in. (33.5 x 19.3cm.)

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Lot Essay

A scene with very similar composition depicting a fight between mounted warriors in a mountainous landscape, can be seen on fol.89b. of a Shahnama in the Bodleian library (MS. Ouseley Add.176). Our painting is distinguished by the way in which the composition extends beyond the text panel to the left. Though Persian artists had been exploring the possibilities of using the margins since the Ilkhanid period, it remained relatively uncommon until the later 16th century. In the Oxford manuscript only a few illustrations - such as that depicting Kayumars in the form of a dragon fighting with his sons on fol.32b - take advantage of the full space of the page. A Shahnama illustration of similar date was sold in these Rooms, 31 March 2022, lot 58.

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