"Rustam Kills Isfandiyar with a Double Pointed Arrow", Folio from a Shahnama
15th century
Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
Frame: H. 15 3/4 in. (40 cm) W. 12 9/16 in. (31.9 cm) Mat window (approx.): H. 9 7/8 in. (25.1 cm) W. 6 7/8 in. (17.5 cm)
Classification
Codices
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Friends of Islamic Art Gifts, 2016
Accession Number
2016.176
About the Artist
Abu'l Qasim Firdausi · 935–1020
Abu'l Qasim Firdausi, born around 940 in the village of Paj near Tus in Khorasan (modern-day Iran), emerged from a family of landed gentry known as dehqans, who preserved ancient Iranian oral traditions amid the cultural renaissance of the Samanid Empire. Little is documented about his early life or formal training, though he likely received a basic education including Arabic literacy, immersing h...