2002.50.38: Gudarz Pays Homage to Kay Khusraw and Shows Him the Enemy Corpses (painting, verso; text, recto), folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi
ManuscriptsIdentification and Creation
- Object Number
- 2002.50.38
- Title
- Gudarz Pays Homage to Kay Khusraw and Shows Him the Enemy Corpses (painting, verso; text, recto), folio from a manuscript of the Shahnama by Firdawsi
- Classification
- Manuscripts
- Work Type
- manuscript folio
- Date
- 1575-1590
- Places
- Creation Place: Middle East, Iran, Shiraz
- Period
- Safavid period
- Culture
- Persian
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/100602
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
- Dimensions
- 42.9 x 27.1 cm (16 7/8 x 10 11/16 in.)
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
- [Mansour Gallery, London, 1990 or 1992], sold; to Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (1990 or 1992 - 2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art
- Accession Year
- 2002
- Object Number
- 2002.50.38
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Descriptions
- Description
- After assuming the throne, Kay Khusraw summoned his best warriors, heroes, and chieftains to battle Afrasiyab and the Turanians. When the war was nearly won, the king came to join his forces. In the painting he and the hero Rustam appear on horseback at the left. The Iranian warrior Gudarz and his sons have dismounted, and one of them kneels in front of Rustam and Kay Khusraw. Four severed heads on the ground between the two groups and five more on spikes at upper right represent the enemy corpses mentioned in the text and offer proof of the Iranians’ success. The composition is studded with soldiers, mounted or on foot, observing the event.
Published Catalogue Text: In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art , written 2013
98
Gudarz Pays Homage to Kay Khusraw and Shows Him the Enemy Corpses
Recto: text, with title “Kay Khusraw arrives at the camp”
Verso: text and illustration
Folio: 42.9 × 27.1 cm (16 7/8 × 10 11/16 in.)
2002.50.38
After assuming the throne, Kay Khusraw summoned his best warriors, heroes, and chieftains to battle Afrasiyab and the Turanians. When the war was nearly won, the king came to join his forces. In the painting he and the hero Rustam appear on horseback at the left. The Iranian warrior Gudarz and his sons have dismounted, and one of them kneels in front of Rustam and Kay Khusraw. Four severed heads on the ground between the two groups and five more on spikes at upper right represent the enemy corpses mentioned in the text and offer proof of the Iranians’ success. The composition is studded with soldiers, mounted or on foot, observing the event.
Mika M. Natif
Publication History
- Mary McWilliams, ed., In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, exh. cat., Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2013), pp. 85-87, ill.; pp. 165-167, ill.; p. 239, cat. 98, ill.
Exhibition History
- In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/31/2013 - 06/01/2013
- Arghavan Khosravi: Black Rain, Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, 08/03/2023 - 10/22/2023
Verification Level
This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu