"Bahram Gur Slays the Rhino-Wolf", Folio 586r from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp
'Abd al-'Aziz|Aqa Mirak|Abu'l Qasim Firdausi
ca. 1530–35 · Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper · Islamic Art
Shah Shangul asked Bahram to rid the world of a monstrous rhino‑wolf, which tore the hearts from lions and the skin from leopards. Bahram strung up his bow and sped toward the rhino‑wolf, pouring a mighty hail of arrows onto the beast. In this painting, the image of the rhino‑wolf breaks through the rulings of the painting into the margins, lending the composition dynamism and suggesting the extension of the setting beyond the confines of the page.
- Artist
- 'Abd al-'Aziz|Aqa Mirak|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
