Day 168 - Shahnama folio
July 15, 2019
Gallery 462 is a very large room dedicated to the art of Iran from the 16th to the 19th century. It is a reminder of Iran's long and rich culture that seems especially important to recall at this time of bellicose rhetoric on the part of both Iran and the U.S.A. I hear a woman with a British accent say to her companion, "Why would they [the Iranians] want to negotiate with that vulgar man, Trump?" Perhaps that is simplistic, but it gives pause.
The room has many huge and elaborate carpets, along with brass objects and paintings, and one of the latter is today's object. It's a painting from the Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp, which a placard describes as "arguably the most luxuriously illustrated manuscript of Firdusi's epic ever produced." The work was created at the royal atelier in Tabriz and was presented to the Shah in 1568; the project involved the most outstanding painters of the time. The Met is fortunate to own 78 of the 258 paintings that illustrate the text.
The painting I selected to write about is rather atypical: It doesn't show a battle or a scene in a pavilion or interior rich with ornamental details. Instead, it depicts a polo match played by Siyavush before KIng Afrasiyab. Eight polo players occupy the foreground of the painting, their horses shown from all different angles (facing toward the viewer, facing away, shown sideways); four of the players' mallets direct our gaze to the very center of the composition. Siyavush, shown in profile near the center of the field, rides a black horse; he especially draws our attention with his upraised mallet and the large plume rising from his turban. The king, slightly apart from his retinue, watches the action at a distance. The bright colors of the observers stand out against the brilliant blue sky.
Several things make this painting stand out for me: the clarity of the composition, the rich reds and blues and oranges of the riders' robes, and the overall sense of liveliness and motion that the painter (believed to be one Qasim ibn 'Ali) has conveyed.
The room has many huge and elaborate carpets, along with brass objects and paintings, and one of the latter is today's object. It's a painting from the Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp, which a placard describes as "arguably the most luxuriously illustrated manuscript of Firdusi's epic ever produced." The work was created at the royal atelier in Tabriz and was presented to the Shah in 1568; the project involved the most outstanding painters of the time. The Met is fortunate to own 78 of the 258 paintings that illustrate the text.
The painting I selected to write about is rather atypical: It doesn't show a battle or a scene in a pavilion or interior rich with ornamental details. Instead, it depicts a polo match played by Siyavush before KIng Afrasiyab. Eight polo players occupy the foreground of the painting, their horses shown from all different angles (facing toward the viewer, facing away, shown sideways); four of the players' mallets direct our gaze to the very center of the composition. Siyavush, shown in profile near the center of the field, rides a black horse; he especially draws our attention with his upraised mallet and the large plume rising from his turban. The king, slightly apart from his retinue, watches the action at a distance. The bright colors of the observers stand out against the brilliant blue sky.
Several things make this painting stand out for me: the clarity of the composition, the rich reds and blues and oranges of the riders' robes, and the overall sense of liveliness and motion that the painter (believed to be one Qasim ibn 'Ali) has conveyed.
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