The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

Isfandiyar slays Arjasp, the king of Turan, from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934–1020)

1600–1605

Haidar Kashmiri

(Indian, active late 1500s-early 1600s)
Mughal India
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Page: 36.7 x 24.4 cm (14 7/16 x 9 5/8 in.)
Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.314
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Wine spilling from a porcelain bottle heightens the action of the moment.

Description

This illustrated scene occurs early in the narrative of Isfandiyar, who is destined to serve as king of Iran with Rustam as his champion. The episode describes Isfandiyar’s quest for vengeance against the tyrant Arjasp of Turan, who had defeated his father in battle and taken his sisters captive. Isfandiyar disguised himself as a merchant, entered Arjasp’s fort, and then fought his way to the enemy king, whom he defeated in battle. The artist has included beautiful and delicate details of the garden and architectural setting of this gruesome scene. An onlooker below puts his finger to his mouth in a gesture of astonishment.
  • Collection of Mrs. L.C.M.G. Brunet
    July 13, 1971
    (Sotheby’s, London, England, Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, 13 July 1971 sale, lot 138)
    September 20–21, 1985
    (Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, NY, Indian, Himalayan and South-East Asian Art and Indian Miniatures, 20–21 September 1985 sale, lot 376, sold to Ralph and Catherine Glynn Benkaim)
    1985–2001
    Ralph Benkaim [1914–2001] and Catherine Glynn Benkaim [b. 1946], Beverly Hills, CA
    2001–2013
    Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer, Beverly Hills, CA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2013–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Mace, Sonya Rhie, Mohsen Ashtiany, Catherine Glynn, Pedro Moura Carvalho, Marcus Fraser, and Ruby Lal. Mughal Paintings: Art and Stories: the Cleveland Museum of Art. London: D Giles Limited, 2016. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 34, pp. 321–323 and p. 65, fig. 1.14
  • Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).
  • {{cite web|title=Isfandiyar slays Arjasp, the king of Turan, from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934–1020)|url=false|author=Haidar Kashmiri|year=1600–1605|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.314