Collection Online as of December 1, 2023

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

c. 1444

Part of a set. See all set records

Iran, Shiraz, Timurid period

(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.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Yā kabīkaj

Inscription Translation

King of Cockroaches

Inscription Remark

This is a talismanic inscription against insects that might damage the book.

Inscription Remark

Effaced seal

Provenance

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

Citations

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

Exhibition history

Exhibition of Muhammedan Art [Die Ausstellung Von Meisterwerken der Muhammadanischen Kunst in Munchen]. Munich, Germany (1910).

Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (1935). [lent by Minassian] (both folios?)

Exhibition of Islamic Art. De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA (February 24-March 22, 1937).

Exhibition of Persian Art. The Iranian Institute, New York, NY (1940).

Exhibition of Islamic Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1944).

Mostra d'Arte Iranica [Exhibition of Iranian art]. Instituto Italiano Per Il Medio Ed Estremo Oriente, Rome (June-August 1956).

7000 Ans d'art en Iran. Petit Palais, Paris (October-November 1961).

Muslim Miniature Paintings from American Collections. Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice, Italy; Asia House, New York, NY (September 1962-February 1963).

Juxtapositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 11-October 10, 1965).

Imperial Images in Persian Painting. The Scottish Arts Council Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland (August 13-September 11, 1977).

The Twain Shall Meet. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 30, 1985-January 5, 1986).

Order and Rhythm: Carpets from the Islamic World. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 10-November 7, 1993).

Persian Miniature Manuscripts. The Scottish Arts Council Gallery, Edinburgh, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (August 13-September 11, 1977).