"Bahram Gur Hunting Onagers (Wild Ass)", folio from a Shahnama ("Book of Kings") of Abu'l Qasim Firdawsi
Artist
Unknown
Dateabout 1335
Creation PlaceTabriz, Iran
MediumOpaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions60 x 40.5 cm (23 5/8 x 15 15/16 in.)
Frame: 74.3 x 59.1 cm (29 1/4 x 23 1/4 in.)
Frame: 74.3 x 59.1 cm (29 1/4 x 23 1/4 in.)
ClassificationsNon-Western Miniatures
Credit LineJerome Wheelock Fund
Object number1935.24
DescriptionBahram Gur, King of Persia of the Sassanide Dynasty, on horseback, hunting. King wearing a crown, head surrounded by halo of Byzantine saints, with Pahlavi characters inscribed on its edge. Shape of Mongol bow is worthy of note. Catalogue entry from "The Legacy of Genghis Khan" published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Cat. Entry #57: Bahram Gur Hunting Onagers. On another hunt, Bahram Gur astounded his companions with his skill by shooting at an onager so that the arrow entered the animal's rump and came out of its breast, and then by cleaving another in half with a single stroke of the sword. Pleased with his success and as a gesture of generosity, Bahram ordered six hundred onagers to be earmarked with gold rings and another six hundred to be branded, all to be distributed among the people. Like other such scenes, this one illustrates different moments in the narrative. Bahram Gur is shown with an arrows at the ready, while another has already hit its mark in an onager's rump. Other onagers are seen with brands on their rumps and gold rings in their ears.Label TextThe Shahnama or “Book of Kings” is an epic penned by the Persian poet Abu’l Qasim Firdawsi (940-1020) around 1010 AD. Consisting of approximately 50,000 couplets, it recounts both the mythical and historical past of the Persian empire, from the creation of the world, to the Arab conquest of Iran in the 7th century. The stories within the Shahnama were intended to act as a guide for future kings, so that they can learn from past in order to improve the present, and to better shape the future. Through the trials and tribulations of their predecessors – both real and fictitious – kings and princes were to learn from the Shahnama on how to conduct themselves ethically, morally, and with bravery and integrity. Illustrated versions of the Book of Kings began to appear in the early 14th century. The oldest surviving manuscript is known as the "Great Mongol" Shahnama, which, based on the style of the paintings and calligraphy, has been attributed to the reign of Ilkhanate ruler Abu Sa‘id. The elaborate paintings blend Persian and Chinese artistic traditions, the latter evidenced in the treatment of the land- and skyscapes, which bear gnarled trees, craggy rocks, and skies filled with scrolling clouds. This folio is one of the fifty-eight from the Great Mongol Shahnama to survive. It depicts the legendary Sassanian King, Bahram V (r. 430-8), on horseback and hunting onagers or wild ass. The king is also known as “Bahram Gur”; “gur” being the Persian word for “onager”, on account of his love for hunting, especially of the animal. This depiction celebrates an extraordinarily difficult shot Bahram executed on a previous hunt. He demonstrated his hunting prowess by shooting at an onager so that the arrow entered the animal's rump and came out of its breast, and then by cleaving another in half with a single stroke of the sword. Pleased with his success and as a gesture of generosity, Bahram ordered 600 onagers to be earmarked with gold rings and another 600 to be branded, all to be distributed amongst the people. Bahram is shown here readying an arrow, while one has already hit its mark in an onager's rump. Other onagers are seen with brands on their rumps and gold rings in their ears. ProvenanceDemotte, New York NY
On View
Not on viewCollections
about 1600–1650
