Page 27 - 2021 April 1, ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs, Christie's London

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BAHMAN ENTHRONED AT COURT
SAFAVID SHIRAZ, CIRCA 1540-50
An illustration from the Shahnama of Firdawsi,
opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper,
Bahman sits enthroned at court with attendants,
four columns of text in nasta'liq above and below
within gold rules, the text to the reverse arranged
in similar format, framed and glazed
Painting 7√ x 5in. (20 x 12.7cm.);
text panel 10Ω x 5¬in. (26.5 x 14.2cm.);
folio 15¿ x 9æin. (38.4 x 24.9cm.)
£10,000-15,000 US$15,000-21,000
€12,000-17,000
The scene has been identified as Bahman had
been on the throne for sixty years.

The arrangement of this folio bears several
similarities to a folio from the renowned Shah
Tahmasp Shahnama made in Tabriz, depicting
Faridun’s mother Faranak sending gifts to her
son, now in the Khalili Collection (MSS 1030.38).
The central figure in our scene sits, like Faridun,
leaning forward slightly with one leg outstretched,
as if mirroring this posture. The three figures to
the left in the present lot also recall those to the
side of Faridun in the Shahnama folio. This is
similarly depicted on another manuscript of the
Shahnama produced in Tabriz in 1520-21 that sold
in these Rooms, 10 April 2014, lot 14. The delicate
facial forms and the very high turbans worn by
the male figures in our manuscript are also typical
qualities of the Tabriz school of painting.
These similarities may suggest that the artist of
the present folio was trained in, or at least very
familiar with, the early Tabriz painting style in
the royal ateliers under Shah Tahmasp. As Shah
Tahmasp’s political and religious concerns grew
in the 1540s, his interest in the arts waned and
his royal atelier was disbanded. Many highly
trained artists practised their craft elsewhere,
particularly in Shiraz, where this folio was
produced.
A Shahnama dated AH 950/1543-44 AD which
includes a comparable scene to the present lot is
in the Topkapi Sarayi Museum, Istanbul, H1481.

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