"Siyavush Displays his Skill at Polo before Afrasiyab," Folio from a Shahnama (Book of Kings)
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions
Page: H. 14 1/2 in. (36.8 cm) W. 11 15/16 in. (30.4 cm) Painting: H. 3 3/8 in. (8.5 cm) W. 9 7/16 in. (24 cm) Text block: H. 11 5/16 in. (28.8 cm) W. 9 5/8 in. (24.5 cm)
Classification
Codices
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Cora Timken Burnett Collection of Persian Miniatures and Other Persian Art Objects, Bequest of Cora Timken Burnett, 1956
Accession Number
57.51.35
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite folio from a *Shahnama* (Book of Kings), the Persian poem by Abu'lasim Firdausi completed 1010 CE, the dramatic moment when the Siyavush demonstrates his of polo before the Turanian king Afrasiyab. to 1341 CE, it hails from a luxurious manuscript produced in Persia during the post-Mongol Ilkhanid era, a time when illustrated epics flourished as symbols of cultural revival and royal patronage. The artist, likely Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn (?) Husaini (known as-Mausili), andigrapher al-Hasan Qawam al-Daula wa'l-Din, brought Firdausi's timeless tales of heroism, betrayal, and v...
About the Artist
Abu'l Qasim Firdausi|Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn `Ali ibn (?) Husaini, known as al-Mausili|al-Hasan Qawam al-Daula wa'l-Din · 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...