Walters Ms. W.677, Four leaves from a ShahnamaShāhnāmahشاهنامهFirdawsīAbū al-Qāsim Ḥasan ibn Isḥāq Firdawsī Ṭūsīابو القاسم حسن بن اسحاق فردوسى طوسىAuthor dates preferred by cataloger: d. 411 or 416 AH / 1020-5 CEscribeḤasan ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ḥusaynīحسن بن محمد بن على الحسينىName does not appear on any of the leaves; see bibliography, SimpsonPrincipal catalogerGacek, AdamCatalogerLandau, AmyCatalogerSmith, SitaEditorBockrath, DianeContributorBarrera, ChristinaContributorEmery, DougContributorHerbert, LynleyContributorNoel, WilliamContributorSimpson, ShreveContributorTabritha, ArielContributorToth, Michael B.ContributorValle, ChiaraConservatorJewell, StephanieConservatorQuandt, AbigailThe Walters Art Museum

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These four leaves come from a dispersed illustrated and illuminated manuscript of Firdawsī's Shāhnāmah (Book of kings), commissioned by Qawām al-Dawlah wa-al-Dīn Ḥasan, vizier to the Inju governor in Fars province. It was copied by Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ḥusaynī in 741 AH / 1341 CE. The text is written in black nastaʿlīq script with chapter headings in red, blue, and black taʿlīq script. The dispersal of the manuscript occurred in the early fourteenth century AH / twentieth CE, and over one-half of its leaves are extant and housed in public and private collections. The illuminated folio with the year of the manuscript's completion and a dedication to the patron is housed in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (S1986.110 and S1986.111), and the folio with the colophon and finispiece is housed in the Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan Collection (IR.M. 6/I). The manuscript's illustrations have been associated with production in Shiraz. The Walters paintings are as follows: Zāl joins Miḥrāb in battling the Turanians, Battle of the Iranians and the Turanians, Execution of Afrāsiyāb, and Bahrām Gūr in a peasant’s house.BaltimoreThe Walters Art MuseumW.677The primary language in this manuscript is Persian.fols. W.677Aa - W.677DbShāhnāmahشاهنامهscribe

Light beige paper

Foliation: 436.530.528.524.0Main text written in black nastaʿlīq script; chapter headings written in red, blue, and black taʿlīq scriptFour illustrationsBahrām Gūr in a peasant’s houseIllustrationText pageText pageThis text page is the back of the illustration Bahrām Gūr in a peasant’s house.Execution of AfrāsiyābIllustrationText pageText pageThis text page is the back of the illustration Execution of Afrāsiyāb.Battle of the Iranians and the TuraniansIllustrationText pageText pageThis text page is the back of the illustration Battle of the Iranians and the Turanians.Zāl joins Miḥrāb in battling the TuraniansIllustrationText pageText pageThis text page is the back of the illustration Zāl joins Miḥrāb in battling the Turanians.Ramaḍān 741 AH / 1341 CEIranName: Dikran KelekianWalters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequestRelevant WorksGrube, Ernst J., and Maria Alberta Fabris. Muslim Miniature Paintings from the XIII to XIX Century from Collections in the United States and Canada: Catalogue of the Exhibition. (Venezia: N. Pozza, 1962), 33-35.Simpson, Marianna Shreve. "A Reconstruction and Preliminary Account of the 1341 Shahnama with some Further Thoughts on Early Shahnama Illustration." In Persian Painting from the Mongols to the Qajars. Robert Hillenbrand, ed. London; New York: I.B. Tauris, 2000), 215-247.Binyon, Laurence, J. V. S. Wilkinson, and Basil Gray. Persian Miniature Painting. (London: Oxford University Press, 1933), no. 24.Stchoukine, Ivan. La Peinture iranienne sous les derniers 'Abbasids et les Il-Khans. (Bruges: Imprimerie Sainte Catherine, 1936), 93-94; no. XIX.Corbin, Henri et al. Les arts de l'Iran, L'Ancienne Perse et Baghdad (Paris: Bibliotheque nationale, 1938), 21; no. 21.Robinson, Basil W. et al. The Keir Collection: Islamic Painting and the Arts of the Book. (London: Faber Limited, 1976), 135; nos. III.4-III.5.Hillenbrand, Robert. Imperial Images in Persian Painting. (Edinburgh: Scottish Arts Council, 1977), nos. 64, 136-138, 207.Soudavar, Abolala. Art of the Persian Courts: Selections from the Art and History Trust Collection (New York: Rizzoli, 1992), 43-44, no. 14.ArtMedicineMuseumPoetryScriptMuhammad, the ProphetKashmiriHorsesWalters Art MuseumBlockbookDocumentGeneologyAstrologyDevotionHistoryLegalLiterature -- PoetryLiterature -- ProseLiturgyPhilosophyScienceScience -- MedicineScriptureSufismTheologyMineralogyLogicGeographyGeomancyCosmologyCartographyFortune-tellingKoranQur`anFirmanPalimpsestPrayerBibleGospelsPsalterMissalLectionaryBook of HoursAntiphonaryPrayerbookHomilaryProcessionalHorologionBreviaryHymnalChroniclePsalter/HoursMaghrebSub-Saharan (West) AfricaTurkeyAfghanistanCentral Arab Lands (Near East)Central AsiaEgyptEnglandIndiaIranIraqPakistanGermanyFranceAustriaNetherlandsEthiopiaArmeniaFlandersGreeceMamlukMughalOttomanOttonianArmenianByzantineAbbasidQajarRajputChristianArabicAustrianDutchEgyptianFatimidGermanIndianIslamicPersianSafavidTimuridTurkishUmayyadEnglishFrenchFlemishEthiopianCarolingianCalligraphyChartsColophonHeadpieceIlluminationIllustrationMedallionMiniatureOrnamentPainting'Kufic'Early Abbasid scriptRaginiRomanesqueGothicWatermarkTreasure BindingGrotesquesHistoriated initialInhabited initialCarolingian MinusculeGothic Book handWhite-vine letteringEnglish secretaryTexturaBatardaHumanisticUncialAccordion bookAlbumBookCodexManuscriptHeraldrySaint's LifeDrawingGrisailleOriginal BindingBindingNew Abbasid stylecharter8th Century9th Century10th Century11th Century12th Century13th Century14th Century15th Century16th Century17th Century18th Century19th Century20th CenturyMusical notationRussiaRomaniaLiturgicalDevotionalScripturalTheologicalLegalHistoricalScientificScientific -- MedicalLiterary -- ProseLiterary -- PoetryPhilosophicalAstrologicalSufiEnglishHistoryIlluminationIllustrationIranIslamicManuscriptMiniaturePaintingPersianWalters Art Museum