Page 96 - 2021 March 17th, Indian and Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art, Christie's New York City

PROPERTY FROM A PROMINENT EAST COAST COLLECTION
434
A LARGE ILLUSTRATED LEAF FROM THE TARIKHNAMA OF ABU
'ALI MUHAMMAD BIN MUHAMMAD AL-BAL'AMI: AFSHIN AND
BABAK ARRIVING AT SAMARA
PERSIA, SAFAVID DYNASTY, 16TH CENTURY
Image 10æ x 8æ in. (27.3 x 22.2 cm.)
$10,000-15,000
PROVENANCE:
Collection of Ralph and Irene Beacon, before 1987.
Sotheby's New York, 25 March 1987, lot 200.

波斯 薩非王朝 十六世紀 ABU‘ALI MUHAMMAD BIN
MUHAMMAD AL-BAL'AMI史書圖頁
來源:
Ralph暨Irene Beacon伉儷珍藏，1987年前。
倫敦蘇富比，1987年3月25日，拍品200。

The present leaf is from the tenth-century historical text the Tarikhnama, or
“Book of History,” by the Samanid vizier Abu ‘Ali Muhammad bin Muhammad
al-Bal’ami (d. 974). The book spans a period from the creation of the universe
through the Islamic age at which it was recorded. The present scene
represents the Persian revolutionary Babak Khorramdin (c. 795-838) captured
by Abbasid general Khaydhar ibn Kawus al-Afshin (d. 841). Afshin, upon the
camel, parades Babak, upon the elephant, into Samara, as the town celebrates
Afshin’s military success. This large illustration is narrated in Persian with
nasta’liq script upon an interlinear gilt ground.