Skip to main content
Bonhams
Search
Previous Lot
Next Lot
Six illustrated leaves from a dispersed manuscript of Firdausi's Shahnama Qajar Persia, late 18th/early 19th Century(6) image 1
Six illustrated leaves from a dispersed manuscript of Firdausi's Shahnama Qajar Persia, late 18th/early 19th Century(6) image 2
Six illustrated leaves from a dispersed manuscript of Firdausi's Shahnama Qajar Persia, late 18th/early 19th Century(6) image 3
Six illustrated leaves from a dispersed manuscript of Firdausi's Shahnama Qajar Persia, late 18th/early 19th Century(6) image 4
Six illustrated leaves from a dispersed manuscript of Firdausi's Shahnama Qajar Persia, late 18th/early 19th Century(6) image 5
Six illustrated leaves from a dispersed manuscript of Firdausi's Shahnama Qajar Persia, late 18th/early 19th Century(6) image 6
Lot 14*,R

Six illustrated leaves from a dispersed manuscript of Firdausi's Shahnama
Qajar Persia, late 18th/early 19th Century
(6)

Islamic and Indian Art
30 March 2021, 11:00 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £4,845 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Islamic and Indian Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

Six illustrated leaves from a dispersed manuscript of Firdausi's Shahnama
Qajar Persia, late 18th/early 19th Century

Persian manuscript on paper, six leaves, paintings in gouache and gold, 27 lines to the page, text written in nasta'liq script in black ink in four columns, headings written in nasta'liq script in red, inner margins ruled in gold, black and blue, margins trimmed
leaves 370 x 240 mm. and slightly smaller(6)

Footnotes

Provenance
Private South African collection, acquired in Cape Town in the 1970s.

The subjects of the paintings are as follows:

1. Rustam kills the White Div.
2. Rustam kills Pilsam, impaling him on a lance.
3. The enthronement of Faridun.
4. Iskandar's battle with Fur, in the midst of a fierce melee.
5. Tus and Forud, son of Siyavash, in combat outside the walls of a citadel.
6. Bijan, riding on a white horse, kills Palashan.

The leaves appear to derive from the same Shahnama manuscript as a leaf in the Ashmolean Museum of Art, Oxford (EA2003.51), depicting Rustam in combat with the King of Hamavaran, illustrated in G. Fellinger (ed.), L'Empire des roses: chef-d'oeuvre de l'art persan du XIXe siecle, Lens 2018, p. 123, no. 117. At the very least, the painting would seem to be by the same artist: the depiction of Rustam is identical, with the same fur headdress, and long beard (which as the catalogue points out, owes a good deal to depictions of Fath 'Ali Shah Qajar).

Important Notice to Buyers
Some countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.

Additional information

Bid now on these items