"Bahram Gur Pins the Coupling Onagers", Folio 568r from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp
Mir Sayyid 'Ali|Abu'l Qasim Firdausi
ca. 1530–35 · Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper · Islamic Art
One day, Shah Bahram and a large party of horsemen were hunting in a plain overrun with onagers, or wild asses. Letting fly an arrow at a buck mounting his mate, Bahram pinned them together and earned the nickname Bahram Gur, or "Onagers" Bahram. Distinguished for his meticulous attention to detail, Mir Sayyid 'Ali had been raised in the Safavid artists’ atelier under the tutelage of his father, Mir Musavvir, the second director of Shah Tahmasp’s Shahnama project. The simurgh on Bahram Gur’s saddlecloth and intricate designs on his quiver and saddle are typical of Mir Sayyid 'Ali’s work.
- Artist
- Mir Sayyid 'Ali|Abu'l Qasim Firdausi
- Date
- ca. 1530–35
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper
- Department
- Islamic Art
- Credit line
- Gift of Arthur A. Houghton Jr., 1970
