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

Details / Information for 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
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(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
Public Domain
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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.
Vertically oriented pale beige paper with a gilded circle in the center surrounded by a blue circle with gold tendrils. Symmetrically protruding from the top and bottom of this circle are fine blue lines intersected by blue teardrop shapes detailed with primarily gold floral motifs. The paper is water stained, particularly around the edges, and occasional organic shapes in a solid light brown color show through from the watercolor painting on the other side.

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

c. 1444

Iran, Shiraz, Timurid period (1370-1501)

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