Bahram Gur and Azada, from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940-1019 or 1025)
Unknown Artist
1500s
Medium
opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
image: 17.4 × 11 cm · sheet: 32.5 × 21.5 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
Accession Number
1915.597
About this artwork
This image from an unfinished painting depicts one of the most popular episodes from the life of the pre-Islamic Persian king Bahram Gur (reigned AD 420–38). A famed hunter, he was challenged by his concubine, Azada, to strike a donkey through its foot and ear with a single arrow. Azada is in the upper right playing the harp on a camel. Bahram Gur successfully meets her challenge at the bottom of the page; he tossed a rock into the donkey’s ear, then fired when the animal tried to kick it loose.