Aulad Tied to a Plane Tree, from a Shahnama by Firdausi (1575–1600): Art, History and Details

Aulad Tied to a Plane Tree, from a Shahnama by Firdausi (1575–1600) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Sadiqi Bek (Iranian, 1533–1609).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This large-scale illustration reflects a new aesthetic with simpler paintings of isolated figures which artists signed for less sophisticated patrons in the marketplace, replacing the previous idealized court style as a result of decreased support under Shah ‘Abbas (reigned 1587–1629). Instead, he improved the infrastructure to increase international trade and the country’s wealth. The scene depicts Aulad, who guided the legendary hero Rustam through numerous ordeals. Since Aulad was not entirely trusted, Rustam often tied him to a tree, here a plane tree which shelters a pair of nesting birds. The painter, poet, and royal librarian Sadiqi Bek signed his name in tiny script on the brown rock below Aulad.

Object facts

• Title: Aulad Tied to a Plane Tree, from a Shahnama by Firdausi
• Date: 1575–1600
• Creator attribution: Sadiqi Bek (Iranian, 1533–1609)
• Culture: Iran, Qazvin or Isfahan?, Safavid period (1501–1722)
• Type: Manuscript
• Technique: opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper
• Dimensions: Sheet: 33.5 x 23.5 cm (13 3/16 x 9 1/4 in.); Image: 33.5 x 23.5 cm (13 3/16 x 9 1/4 in.)
• Collection: Islamic Art
• Department: Islamic Art
• Accession number: 1988.101

A detail from the museum

Rustam’s dappled horse named Raksh drinks water; it was originally silver, but has now oxidized to black.

Collection credit

Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• “The Year in Review for 1988.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 76, no. 2 (1989): 30–75.
• Franklin, David. The Cleveland Museum of Art. London: Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd., 2012.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.