Artwork Page for Bahram Gur and Azada, from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025)

Details / Information for Bahram Gur and Azada, from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025)

Bahram Gur and Azada, from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025)

1500s

Iran, Tabriz or Qazvin, Safavid period

(1501-1722)
Medium
opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Measurements
Sheet: 32.5 x 21.5 cm (12 13/16 x 8 7/16 in.); Image: 17.4 x 11 cm (6 7/8 x 4 5/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1915.597
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

This image from an unfinished painting depicts one of the most popular episodes from the life of the pre-Islamic Persian king Bahram Gur (reigned 420–438 CE). A famed hunter, he was challenged by his concubine, Azada, to strike a donkey through its foot and ear with a single arrow. Azada is in the upper right playing the harp on a camel. Bahram Gur successfully meets her challenge at the bottom of the page; he tossed a rock into the donkey’s ear, then fired when the animal tried to kick it loose.
Vertically oriented book page depicting Bahram Gur, a man dressed in orange and blue, holding a bow and riding a dappled blue horse. He looks at a donkey in the lower right with an arrow through its ear and back hoof. In the upper right, Azada, a woman wearing blue robes, sits on a camel playing a harp. Left stands a person in green-yellow robes. All have light skin tones. Gold-outlined greenery patterns the background.

Bahram Gur and Azada, from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025)

1500s

Iran, Tabriz or Qazvin, Safavid period (1501-1722)

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