"Battle Scene", Folio from a Zafarnama (Book of Victories) of Sharaf al-Din 'Ali Yazdi
1485–86
Medium
Ink, watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions
Painting: H. 9 3/8 in. (23.8 cm) W. 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm) Page: H. 12 in. (30.5 cm) W. 8 7/16 in. (21.5 cm) Mat: H. 19 1/4 in. (48.9 cm) W. 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm)
Classification
Codices
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1943
Accession Number
43.138
Tags
Art Historical Context
This vibrant folio, titled "Battle Scene," comes from the *Zafarnama* (Book of Victories), lavish 15th-century manuscript chronicling the conquests of Timur (Tamerlane), theco-Mongol conqueror. Written by the Persian historian Sharaf al-D 'Ali Yazdi, the text was copied and illustrated around 1485–86 in the Timurid artistic tradition, likely in Herat or Shiraz. As part of a codex in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Islamic collection, it captures the chaos and glory of battle with dynamic figures of soldiers, men, and rearing horses locked in combat. Executed in ink, watercolor, and gold on p...