"Safavid Persians in the Houghton Shah-Namah" Topic

Lagartija Mike 11 Feb 2014 7:46 p.m. PST

Gorgeous. If you can get a link to them (I can't) images from the Houghton Shah Namah are breathtaking.

Composed in the tenth century by the poet Firdowsi, the Shah-nameh or Book of Kings is Iran's central literary work, a historical epic peopled with monarchs—some of inspiring goodness, others of unmatched wickedness—handsome paladins, beautiful maidens, malevolent witches, and treacherous demons.
This manuscript of the Shah-nameh is the most sumptuous one ever produced.
Containing scores of paintings where other sixteenth-century Shah-nameh manuscripts contain a dozen, the Houghton Shah-nameh (identified by the name of a previous owner, Arthur A. Houghton, Jr.) is thought to have been commissioned about 1522 by Shah Isma'il, the founder of the Safavid dynasty, as a present for his son, Prince Tahmasp.
Court artists and craftsmen continued their work on the 759 folios for the better part of two decades; as a consequence, the book offers a fascinating mixture of artistic styles.

A large portion of the manuscript is in the Museum of Contemporary Arts, Tehran:
Safavid Persian soldiers in illustrations from the Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp I, 1522-1540

Others are scattered:
Zahhak Slays Birmayeh
f36v: Faridun Strikes Down Zahhak
f37: The Death of Zahhak
f42: Faridun Tests his Sons
f102v: Qaran Fights Barman
Siyawus the son of Shah Kay Kawus, enthroned in his palace at Balkh
f236r: The Iranians Mourn the Death of Farud and Jarira
f241r: The Besotted Iranian Camp is Attacked by Night
f341v: The First Joust of the Rooks (Rukhs) – Fariburz kills Gulbad
Gushtasp Kills a Dragon in Rum
Isfandiyar's Fifth Ordeal; He Must Slay the Simurgh
The Story Of Haftvad And The Worm
Detail of Bahrain Qur Pins the Coupling Onagers
f707v: The war between the generals of Khusrau Parviz and Bahram Chubina

MIRROR SITES:
Safavid Persian soldiers in illustrations from the Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp I, 1522-1540 from the MCA Tehran
Other illustrations of Safavid Persians from the Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp I, c. 1522-1540

Druzhina
Illustrations of Persian Costume & Soldiers

Stunning illustrations thank you Druzhina.

Gorgeous, Druzhina. Now if only I could find those Jesuit paintings of the Qing Court in martial and Manchu panoply…..considering starting an 18th century Asian campaign, or a slightly (largely) askew alt-17/18 century comprehensive campaign.