id: 153826 accession number: 1988.101 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1988.101 updated: 2023-03-14 12:01:33.525000 Aulad Tied to a Plane Tree, from a Shahnama by Firdausi, 1575–1600. Sadiqi Bek (Iranian, 1533–1609). Opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper; 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.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1988.101 title: Aulad Tied to a Plane Tree, from a Shahnama by Firdausi title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1575–1600 creation date earliest: 1575 creation date latest: 1600 current location: creditline: Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund copyright: --- culture: Iran, Qazvin or Isfahan?, Safavid Period, 16th century-17th century technique: opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper department: Islamic Art collection: Islamic Art type: Manuscript find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Sadiqi Bek (Iranian, 1533–1609) - artist --- measurements: 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.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: Signed in script by the artist. translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: The Year in Review for 1988 opening date: 1989-03-01T05:00:00 The Year in Review for 1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 14, 1989). title: Islamic art rotation opening date: 2013-12-16T05:00:00 Islamic art rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 16, 2013-December 15, 2014). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE (Dorothea H. Swope [b. 1944], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) date: ?–1988 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1988– footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: Rustam’s dappled horse named Raksh drinks water; it was originally silver, but has now oxidized to black. digital description: wall description: 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. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS “The Year in Review for 1988.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 76, no. 2 (1989): 30–75. page number: Mentioned: p. 73, no. 189; Reproduced: p. 56, no. 189 url: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25160061 Franklin, David. The Cleveland Museum of Art. London: Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd., 2012. page number: Reproduced: pp. 32–33 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1988.101/1988.101_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1988.101/1988.101_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1988.101/1988.101_full.tif