Khosrow Parviz’s armies battle Bahram Chubineh, from an illustrated Shahnameh manuscript
Persia, unknown workshop, Khosrow Parviz’s armies battle Bahram Chubineh, from an illustrated Shahnameh manuscript, 18th century, ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Edwin Binney, 3rd, public domain, 71.54
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
Khosrow Parviz’s armies battle Bahram Chubineh, from an illustrated Shahnameh manuscript
- Artist
- Date
18th century
- Period
Iran: Qajar Dynasty (1781-1925)
- Medium
ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
sheet: 19 1/4 in x 13 in
- Collection Area
Asian Art
- Category
Paintings
Islamic Art
- Object Type
painting
manuscript leaf
- Culture
Iranian
Persian
- Credit Line
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Edwin Binney, 3rd
- Accession Number
71.54
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
- Place Made
Created in: Iran
Khosrow Parviz, new to the Iranian throne, was threatened by the armies of the rebel Bahram Chubineh. At the epicenter of this scene, Bahram cuts down a general in Khosrow's army: the superior rank of the two combatants is indicated by their large size, relative to the other warriors. Khosrow, dressed in red, looks on anxiously from behind the crest of a hill.
In many ways, this work has left the world of traditional Persian painting far behind. The fascination with patterns, the compulsion to fill the page, and the courtly decorum have all been sacrificed for a cartoon-like focus on a single violent act. Yet the subject and its pictorial organization still derive from a template that had endured for four centuries.
