"Bahram Gur in the Sandal Palace on Thursday", Folio 230 from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja

Bahram Gur in the Sandal Palace on Thursday

Bahram Gur, when he had gained the throne of Iran, married seven princesses from the various regions of the earth and on successive days of the week visited each one in her own pavillion, which was of a color associated with the appropriate planet for the day. The sixth day of the week, Thursday, was the day of Jupiter, and the accompanying color, brown or sandalwood.

The miniature exemplifies the continuation of the style of painting practiced in the late fifteenth century at the court of the last Timurid ruler of Iran, Sultan Husayn Bayqara (1469–1506). The formality of harmoniously balanced architectural elements is combined with a delight in intricate and varied patterns on wall surfaces. The innovative naturalism of the Herat school has left its mark on the relaxed game of the blindman's buff being played by the ladies-in-waiting at the left of the courtyard. Their unconcern with the courtly scene results from the two-stage execution of the series of pavillion paintings, with the interior setting of Bahram Gur and the princess painted first, and the courtyard section with the attendants added to balance and give variety to the composition. The headdress worn by Bahram, with its tall baton, became fashionable under the Safavids and indicated the Shi'a branch of Islam, which they established as the state religion.

Marie Lukens Swietochowski in [Berlin 1981]

F. R. Martin (Swedish), Sweden; Alexander Smith Cochran, Yonkers, NY (until 1913; gifted to MMA)

Valentiner, William Reinhold. "The Cochran Collection of Persian Manuscripts." Museum of Metropolitan Art Bulletin, old series, vol. 8 (1913). pp. 80–86, ill. p. 81 (b/w).

Chelkowski, Peter J. "Tales from the Khamseh of Nizami." In Mirror of the Invisible World. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. pp. 100–6, ill. frontispiece, no. 11 (color).

"Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York." In The Arts of Islam. Berlin, 1981. no. 72, pp. 182–83, ill. (color).

Bier, Carol, ed. "Textile Arts of Safavid and Qajar Iran 16th–19th Centuries." In Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart. Washington, D.C.: Textile Museum, 1987. p. 39, ill. fig. 2.

Brend, Barbara. "Illustrations to Amir Khusrau's Khamsa." In Perspectives on Persian Painting. New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003. p. 190.