Bijan killing the wild boars of Irman, from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934–1020)

c. 1610

India, Bijapur, Deccan

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Medium

Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper

Measurements

Page: 20.3 x 12 cm (8 x 4 3/4 in.); Page: 20.5 x 12.4 cm (8 1/16 x 4 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.283

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

Trappings of Byzantine brocade were gifts to the hero who slays the wild boars.

Description

This illustrated page from a Shah-nama depicts the first adventure of the hero Bijan, son of an Iranian knight. When reports arrived at the king’s court of wild boars ravaging the borderlands between the enemy realms of Iran and Turan, Bijan volunteered to hunt and kill the beasts, much to the chagrin of his father, who doubted his young son’s ability to navigate the politically volatile situation. The fearless Bijan is shown on horseback as he singlehandedly strikes the bodies of the boars in the brush. After overzealously celebrating his success, Bijan must be rescued from a pit by Rustam. This early manuscript from the Deccan made for the sultan of Bijapur is characterized by glowing colors and lavish use of gold.