id:			125575
accession number:	1947.500.b
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1947.500.b
updated:		2022-05-24 09:02:04.869000

An Episode from the Story of the Sasanian King Khusrau and His Beloved Shirin, from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami (1141–1209) (verso), 1540-70. Iran, probably Shiraz, Safavid period (1501-1722). Opaque watercolor, ink, gold, and silver on paper; sheet: 29.6 x 16.2 cm (11 5/8 x 6 3/8 in.); image: 21 x 14 cm (8 1/4 x 5 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1947.500.b

title:				An Episode from the Story of the Sasanian King Khusrau and His Beloved Shirin, from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami (1141–1209) (verso)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1540-70
creation date earliest:		1540
creation date latest:		1570
current location:		
creditline:			Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Iran, probably Shiraz, Safavid period (1501-1722)
technique:	opaque watercolor, ink, gold, and silver on paper
department:	Islamic Art
collection:	Islamic Art
type:		Manuscript
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Sheet: 29.6 x 16.2 cm (11 5/8 x 6 3/8 in.); Image: 21 x 14 cm (8 1/4 x 5 1/2 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Islamic art rotation
	opening date:   2012-12-03T05:00:00
	<i>Islamic art rotation</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 3, 2012-December 9, 2013).

	title:		Muhammad Shah's Royal Persian Tent
	opening date:   2015-07-13T04:00:00
	<i>Muhammad Shah's Royal Persian Tent</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 13, 2015-August 23, 2016).

	title:		Arts of Iran (Islamic art rotation)
	opening date:   2018-10-30T04:00:00
	<i>Arts of Iran (Islamic art rotation)</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 30, 2018-October 28, 2019).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* <em>Imperial Images in Persian Painting</em>. Scottish Arts Council Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland (August 13-September 11, 1977).

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PROVENANCE

	Purchased from Heeramaneck Galleries by J.H. Wade Fund
	date: ?-1947
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1947-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
Khusrau’s turban has the anachronistic baton worn by Safavid royalty and the egret feather, an emblem of nobility instituted by the Mongols in the 1200s.

digital description: 


wall description: 
The <em>Khamsa </em>is a collection of five narrative poems, one of which is dedicated to the romance of Khusrau Parviz (590–628), a Sasanian king of Iran, and Shirin, his beloved Armenian princess. The lovers are seated in a nocturnal landscape, indicated by the dark blue sky dotted with stars, painted with now tarnished silver. Shirin serves figs and pomegranates, symbolic of fertility, to Khusrau as attendants bring more figs and wine. Next to Shirin’s black horse, the musician at bottom right plays a <em>tanbur</em>, a long-necked, fretted lute.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
	page number: 	Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 724
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n132

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 223
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n247

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 223
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n247

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 280
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n300

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1947.500.b/1947.500.b_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1947.500.b/1947.500.b_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1947.500.b/1947.500.b_full.tif