The Metropolitan Museum of Art - "Tahmuras Defeats the Divs", Folio from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp

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"Tahmuras Defeats the Divs", Folio from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp

Abu'l Qasim Firdausi (935–1020)

Artist:: Painting attributed to Sultan Muhammad (active first half 16th century)
Object Name:: Folio from an illustrated manuscript
Reign:: Shah Tahmasp (1524–76)
Date:: ca. 1525
Geography:: Iran, Tabriz
Medium:: Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper
Dimensions:: Painting: H. 11 1/8 (28.3 cm) W. 7 5/16 in. (18.6 cm) Entire Page: H. 18 1/2 in. (47 cm) W. 12 5/8 in. (32.1 cm) Mat: H. 22 in. (55.9 cm) W. 16 in. (40.6 cm)
Classification:: Codices
Credit Line:: Gift of Arthur A. Houghton Jr., 1970
Accession Number:: 1970.301.3

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 462

Description

Tahmuras, shown here galloping across a meadow, defeated the divs (demons); in exchange for their lives, they taught him the art of writing. This work is attributed to Sultan Muhammad, the master painter and chief administrator of the first generation of artists of this manuscript. The humor of the divs’ ghastly faces and gestures and the painterly treatment of their spotty skin are typical of Sultan Muhammad’s style.
Provenance

Shah Tahmasp, Iran (until 1568); Sultan Selim II, Istanbul (from 1568); Sultan Selim III, Istanbul (by 1800); Baron Edmond de Rothschild, Paris (by 1903–d. 1934); his son, Baron Maurice de Rothschild, Paris and Pregny, near Geneva (by 1955–d. 1957); [ Stiebel Ltd., New York, until 1959; sold to Houghton]; Arthur A. Houghton Jr., New York (1959–70)
See also
Who
Abu'l Qasim Firdausi (192)

Sultan Muhammad (6)
What
Metal (59,497)

Ink (28,428)

Paper (23,964)

Silver (14,047)

Gold (12,361)

Watercolors (11,621)

Manuscripts (1,808)

Codices (1,179)

Folios (981)

Illuminated manuscripts (721)
Where
Asia (68,122)

Iran (7,079)

Tabriz (99)
When
A.D. 1400-1600 (20,608)
In the Museum
Islamic Art (12,534)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp

Iran, 1400–1600 A.D.
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