The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

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)
opaque watercolor and gold on paper
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.)
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1915.597
Location: Not on view

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.
  • ?–1915
    (Dikran G. Kelekian [1867–1951], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, purchased with funds from the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust)
    1915–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Catalogue of the Inaugural Exhibition June 6-September 20, 1916. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1916. cat. no. 77 archive.org
  • Arts of Iran (Islamic art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 30, 2018-October 28, 2019).
    Inaugural Catalogue, Gallery XII. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 6-September 20, 1916).
  • {{cite web|title=Bahram Gur and Azada, from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025)|url=false|author=|year=1500s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1915.597