Miniature from a copy of Firdawsi’s Shahnama. ‘Rakhsh Kills an Attacking Lion While Rustam Sleeps’
Iran, Shiraz?; 1480-1490
Leaf: 34 × 21.5 cm
Inventory number 48/2006
The greatest of the Persian heroes in Firdawsi’s Book of Kings is undoubtedly Rustam, who was so big at his birth that he had to be delivered with a cesarean section. He was inseparable from his wise stallion Rakhsh, the only horse that could carry him and – as here – often saved the hero thanks to its courage and sagacity.
The painter, who worked in the Turkmen style, depicted the animals’ bloody struggle against a peaceful and idyllic landscape, and showed Rustam, always ready for battle but sleeping soundly, wearing his characteristic tiger caftan and leopard helmet. A Chinese ling zhi cloud hovers in the golden sky.
The painter, who worked in the Turkmen style, depicted the animals’ bloody struggle against a peaceful and idyllic landscape, and showed Rustam, always ready for battle but sleeping soundly, wearing his characteristic tiger caftan and leopard helmet. A Chinese ling zhi cloud hovers in the golden sky.
Published in
Published in
Kjeld von Folsach: For the Privileged Few: Islamic Miniature Painting from The David Collection, Louisiana, Humlebæk 2007, cat.no. 22;
Joachim Meyer and Peter Wandel: Shahnama: the Colorful Epic About Iran’s Past, The David Collection, Copenhagen 2016, cat.nr. 14;
http://shahnama.caret.cam.ac.uk/new/jnama/card/cemanuscript:2143526758;
Joachim Meyer and Peter Wandel: Shahnama: the Colorful Epic About Iran’s Past, The David Collection, Copenhagen 2016, cat.nr. 14;
http://shahnama.caret.cam.ac.uk/new/jnama/card/cemanuscript:2143526758;
Miniature Paintings
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