Bahram Gur and Azada, from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025) (1500s): Art, History and Details

Bahram Gur and Azada, from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025) (1500s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This image from an unfinished painting depicts one of the most popular episodes from the life of the pre-Islamic Persian king Bahram Gur (reigned 420–438 CE). A famed hunter, he was challenged by his concubine, Azada, to strike a donkey through its foot and ear with a single arrow. Azada is in the upper right playing the harp on a camel. Bahram Gur successfully meets her challenge at the bottom of the page; he tossed a rock into the donkey’s ear, then fired when the animal tried to kick it loose.

Object facts

• Title: Bahram Gur and Azada, from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025)
• Date: 1500s
• Culture: Iran, Tabriz or Qazvin, Safavid period (1501-1722)
• Type: Manuscript
• Technique: opaque watercolor and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Sheet: 32.5 x 21.5 cm (12 13/16 x 8 7/16 in.); Image: 17.4 x 11 cm (6 7/8 x 4 5/16 in.)
• Collection: Islamic Art
• Department: Islamic Art
• Accession number: 1915.597

A detail from the museum

The Shahnama, or "Book of Kings," is a monumental epic poem that traces the mythical and historical past of Persia.

Collection credit

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust

Further reading listed by the museum

• Catalogue of the Inaugural Exhibition June 6-September 20, 1916. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1916.

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.