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Persian Miniature: Bahram Gur Hunting - view 1
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Manuscripts · Safavid Empire

Persian Miniature: Bahram Gur Hunting

Period
First half of the 17th century
Dynasty
Safavid Empire
Origin
Isfahan, Persia
Material
Opaque watercolour, ink and gold on paper
Dimensions
29.4 × 19.1 cm (folio)
Reference No.
SC-MSS-0233

A finely rendered miniature depicting the Sasanian king Bahram Gur, mounted upon a dappled grey, loosing an arrow at a wild ass - an episode immortalised in Firdausi's Shahnama. The composition is set against a diapered hillside scattered with chinoiserie cloud bands, attesting to the cosmopolitan tastes of the Isfahan court under Shah Abbas.

The reverse bears four columns of nasta'liq verse in cloud-shaped reserves over a gold-flecked ground.