The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2024

Shamsa (recto) from right folio from a double-page frontispiece of a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025)

Shamsa (recto) from right folio from a double-page frontispiece of a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025)

c. 1444
(1370-1501)
opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Image: 27.7 x 10.3 cm (10 7/8 x 4 1/16 in.); Overall: 32.5 x 22.1 cm (12 13/16 x 8 11/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1945.169.a
Location: not on view

Description

At the center of the recto side of this folio is a shamsa, or sunburst, an exquisite symmetrical pattern of floral and geometric shapes painted in precious pigments and gold to reference divine light. The shamsa might have been intended to contain a name or portrait identifying the manuscript’s original owner, but in this case it is empty.
  • by 1914
    Philipp Walter Schulz [1864-1920], Leipzig, Germany
    before 1935-1945
    (Mrs. Kirkor [Antoinette P. Clark] Minassian [1874-1961], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1945-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned: cat. no. 722 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 228-229
  • Order and Rhythm: Carpets from the Islamic World. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 10-November 7, 1993).
    The Twain Shall Meet. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 30, 1985-January 5, 1986).
    Persian Miniature Manuscripts. The Scottish Arts Council Gallery, Edinburgh, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (August 13-September 11, 1977).
    Imperial Images in Persian Painting. The Scottish Arts Council Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland (August 13-September 11, 1977).
    Juxtapositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 11-October 10, 1965).
    Muslim Miniature Paintings from American Collections. Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice, Italy; Asia House, New York, NY (September 1962-February 1963).
    7000 Ans d'art en Iran. Petit Palais, Paris (October-November 1961).
    Mostra d'Arte Iranica [Exhibition of Iranian art]. Instituto Italiano Per Il Medio Ed Estremo Oriente, Rome (June-August 1956).
    Exhibition of Islamic Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1944).
    Exhibition of Persian Art. The Iranian Institute, New York, NY (1940).
    Exhibition of Islamic Art. De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA (February 24-March 22, 1937).
    Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (1935). [lent by Minassian] (both folios?)
    Exhibition of Muhammedan Art [Die Ausstellung Von Meisterwerken der Muhammadanischen Kunst in Munchen]. Munich, Germany (1910).
  • {{cite web|title=Shamsa (recto) from right folio from a double-page frontispiece of a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1444|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1945.169.a