Four Leaves from a Shahnama

Description These four leaves, collectively Walters W.677, come from a dispersed illustrated and illuminated manuscript of Firdawsi's Shahnamah (Book of kings), commissioned by Qawam al-Dawlah wa-al-Din Hasan, vizier to the Inju governor in Fars province. It was copied by Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Husayni in 741 AH / 1341 CE. The text is written in black Nasta'liq script with chapter headings in red, blue, and black Ta'liq script. The dispersal of the manuscript occurred in the early 14th century AH/AD 20th, and over 1/2 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: Zal joins Mihrab in battling the Turanians, Battle of the Iranians and the Turanians, Execution of Afrasiyab, and Bahram Gur in a peasant's house.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
10/29/1974	Treatment	mounted; re-housed
1/27/1977	Treatment	mounted; re-housed
11/07/1984	Treatment	examined for condition; re-housed
9/16/1986	Examination	examined for condition

Exhibitions

• Art of Persia. Ithaca College Museum of Art, Ithaca. 1966-1967.
• The Royal Style. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1988-1989.
• Mything Persons: Historic Figures in Legends of East and West. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1998.
• Poetry and Prayer: Islamic Manuscripts from the Walters Art Museum. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2010.

Provenance Dikran Kelekian [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters