The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

Nushirwan Sends Mihran Sitad to Fetch the Daughter of the King of China (recto) from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025)

c. 1482

Iran, Shiraz, Timurid period

(1370-1501)
opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper
Image: 14.7 x 15 cm (5 13/16 x 5 7/8 in.); Overall: 32.5 x 23.2 cm (12 13/16 x 9 1/8 in.); Text area: 23 x 15.5 cm (9 1/16 x 6 1/8 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1962.25.a
Location: Not on view

Description

The Iranian painting traditions of creating a conceptual space, symmetry, and decoration characterize this illustration of a scene in the life of the Shi’a Imam Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. The inscription over the door reads “the just sultan.”
  • ?-1962
    acquired in India; (Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1962-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Islamic art rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 16, 2015-December 19, 2016).
    Main gallery rotation (gallery 116). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 16, 2015-December 19, 2016).
    Islamic art rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 3, 2012-December 9, 2013).
  • {{cite web|title=Nushirwan Sends Mihran Sitad to Fetch the Daughter of the King of China (recto) from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1482|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.25.a