"Siyavush and Jarira Wedded", Folio 183v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Abu'l Qasim Firdausi, commissioned by Shah Tahmasp
Medium
Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper
Dimensions
Painting: H. 11 1/8 in. (28.3 cm) W. 8 9/16 in. (21.7 cm) Entire Page: H. 18 5/8 in. (47.3 cm) W. 12 5/8 in. (32.1 cm)
Classification
Codices
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Arthur A. Houghton Jr., 1970
Accession Number
1970.301.27
Tags
About the Artist
Abu'l Qasim Firdausi|Mir Musavvir|'Abd al-Vahhab · 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...