- Museum number
- 1948,1211,0.23
- Description
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Rostam sleeping while Rakhsh fights a lion; single-page painting mounted on detached album folio. From an illustrated manuscript of the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdawsi. Lion and horse are tangled in a fight below a sleeping Rostam. Detailed illustration of foliage surrounds both Rostam and anials. Four columns of text at bottom of sheet, with three more isolated columns placed within the image.
Ink, opaque watercolour and gold on paper.
- Production date
- 1515-1522
- Dimensions
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Height: 31.50 centimetres (image)
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Width: 20.70 centimetres (image)
- Curator's comments
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Rustam set out across the dangerous and distant province of Mazandaran to rescue the ruler, Kay Kavus, who was being held captive by a demon. They stopped to rest in a dangerous forest (originally a meadow in the story, but Sultan Muhammad chose to depict it as a forest), not realizing that they had camped at a lion's lair. As Rustam slept, the lion returned and attacked his horse, Rakhsh, the latter ultimately trampling the lion to death.
The artist has depicted the forest very effectively. Many dangers lurk among the dense landscape of trees, rocks and streams - such as the marauding snake raiding a nest of birds. An assortment of strange faces loom out of the rock formations, including the faces of a lion and a horse, echoing Rakhsh and his adversary.
This painting has been attributed to the Persian painter Sultan Muhammad, a skilled master at the atelier of the Aqqoyunlu Turkmen in Tabriz. This is an excellent example of his work before he adapted his painting to the new Safavid style. Shah Isma`il I (r. 1501-24), the first ruler of the Safavid dynasty, conquered Tabriz in 1501. The Safavids subsequently took the city of Herat in 1510 and brought the craftsmen and artists of the fallen city back to Tabriz, their new capital. This was a customary practice of invaders, which here meant a fusion of two traditions of painting and composition into an identifiable Safavid style.
This work is thought to have been executed for a manuscript of the Shahnama (also known as Shahnameh, or 'Book of Kings'), the national epic of Iran composed by Firdawsi around 1010. This copy is believed to have been commissioned by the Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524-76) for his predecessor, Shah Isma`il I; however, it was never completed. The artist, Sultan Muhammad, became director of Shah Tahmasp's Shahnama project and painted other well-known illustrations for this manuscript, including 'The Court of Gayumars' and 'The Death of Zahhak', both in the collection of the Aga Khan Museum (former collection of Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan; see Sheila R. Canby, Princes, Poets, & Paladins [London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1998], pp. 48-51, cat. nos. 25-26).
Previously attributed to circa 1500-1510.
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The Shahnama, or Book of Kings, is the national epic of Persia. The great warrior Rustam and his faithful red horse Rakhsh were on a long journey to rescue a king held captive by a demon in a distant country. They stopped to rest in a dangerous forest (originally a meadow in the story, but Sultan Muhammad chose to depict it as a forest), not realizing that they had camped at a lion's lair. Later, after Rustam had fallen asleep, the lion returned and attacked Rakhsh. The horse and the lion struggled fiercely together, until Rakhsh managed to trample his attacker to death.
The artist has depicted the forest very effectively. Many dangers lurk among the dense landscape of trees, rocks and streams - such as the marauding snake raiding a nest of birds. An assortment of strange faces loom out of the rock formations, including the faces of a lion and a horse, echoing Rakhsh and his adversary.
This painting has been attributed to the Persian painter Sultan Muhammad, a skilled master at the atelier of the Aqqoyunlu Turkmans in Tabriz. This is an excellent example of his work before he adapted his painting to the new Safavid style.
The Safavid Shah Isma`il I conquered Tabriz in 1501. The Safavids subsequently took the city of Herat in 1510 and brought the craftsmen and artists of the fallen city back to Tabriz, their new capital. This was a customary practice of invaders, which here meant a fusion of two traditions of painting and composition into an identifiable Safavid style.
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
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Exhibited:
2021-2022 27 July-21 March, London, BM G69a, Rivalling Rome: Parthian coins and culture (unable to open to the public due to COVID-19 restrictions)
2010-2011 Nov-Feb, London, Asia House, 'The Tiger in Asian Art'
2007-2008 5 Oct-7 Jan, Paris, Musee du Louvre, 'The Song of the World: The Art of Safavid Iran 1501-1736'
2004 23 Feb-28 Jun, Milan, Poldi Pezzoli Museum, 'The Hunt for Paradise: Court Art of Safavid Iran (1501-1576)'
2003-2004 16 Oct-18 Jan, New York, Asia Society and Museum, 'The Hunt for Paradise: Court Art of Safavid Iran (1501-1576)'
- Associated titles
Associated Title: Shahnameh of Firdausi
- Acquisition date
- 1948
- Department
- Middle East
- Registration number
- 1948,1211,0.23
