Shah Tahmasp I (1514–1576) Seated in a Landscape (c. 1575): Art, History and Details

Shah Tahmasp I (1514–1576) Seated in a Landscape (c. 1575) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Shah Tahmasp I, the second ruler of Iran’s Safavid dynasty, is shown kneeling pensively on a carpet under a willow on the banks of a stream, a book at his side. The luxurious fabrics of his robe and his bolster pillow, with sprigs and cloud motifs in gold, indicate his wealth and privilege. Even the fine white cloth of his turban is edged in gold, topped by a small cluster of jewels.

Object facts

• Title: Shah Tahmasp I (1514–1576) Seated in a Landscape
• Date: c. 1575
• Culture: Iran, Qazvin, Safavid period (1501-1722)
• Type: Manuscript
• Technique: opaque watercolor and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Sheet: 30 x 21.1 cm (11 13/16 x 8 5/16 in.); Image: 14.3 x 8.9 cm (5 5/8 x 3 1/2 in.)
• Collection: Islamic Art
• Department: Islamic Art
• Accession number: 1917.1078

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.