An illustrated leaf from a dispersed manuscript of Firdausi's Shahnama (The Book of Kings), probably depicting Rustam returning to Iran after killing the Div Akvan, made for Qiwam al-Daulah wa'l-Din Hasan
Injuid Persia, Shiraz, circa 1341
Injuid Persia, Shiraz, circa 1341
Persian manuscript on paper, text written in 6 columns of an accomplished naskhi script in black ink, double intercolumnar rules in red, inner margins ruled in blue and red, headings in red and black thuluth script, some retouching to the red background, creased, waterstaining and crude repairs mostly restricted to outer borders, framed
350 x 290 mm.
350 x 290 mm.
Sold for
£4,800
inc. premium
Footnotes
- This illustrated leaf originates from one of a small group of seven or eight manuscripts produced at Shiraz in the first half of the 14th Century. The miniatures are excellent examples of the Inju style of painting which is supposed to have derived from mural painting. The composition and style of the miniature can be compared to those of the Stephens Shahnama, which was produced before 1352 (see Sotheby's, Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, 29th April 1998, lot 41). Other leaves from the same manuscript are illustrated in Pope and Ackerman, A Survey of Persian Art, Oxford 1938-39, p. 834. Five other leaves are in the David Collection and the Keir Collection, Richmond: see K. von Folsach, Art from the World of Islam in the David Collection, Copenhagen 2001, pp. 70-71, nos. 27 and 28; and B. W. Robinson, Islamic Painting and the Arts of the Book, The Keir Collection, London 1976, nos. III 4-6, p. 135, pl. 14.
Category: Islamic and Oriental Art / Islamic and Indian Art
Auction terms and conditions