These are possibly one of the earliest illustrations of the epic poem Shahnamah made in (minai) ceramic in 12th-13th century in Iran.
The Shahnama or Book of Kings is an epic poem written in 1010 and containing about 60,000 couplets by Abu Al-Qasim Firdausi.
The scene on these plates in the @metmuseum is a very popular one showing the Sassanian king Behram Gur with his mistress the court musician, Azadah.
Shah Bahram V, who ruled from 420 to 428 C.E., is much celebrated in Persian tradition for his passion for women and hunting. (His favorite prey was the gur, a wild ass; hence his nickname.) When he mixes the two the results are disastrous.
One day Behram Gur went hunting with Azadah when they came upon a herd of gazelles. She challenges him to show his skill in archery while she herself plays the harp. She challenged him to “change a buck into a doe and a doe into a buck.” Swiftly, he sliced off a buck’s horns with one shot of his bow and then hit a doe with two arrows in the head, giving her two prongs.
When he achieves the feat she feels sorry for the gazelles.
The infuriated Behram flings her down from the top if the camel and tramples her.
The painting in Univ of Michigan is an illustration made in 1460.
#museumtreasures #shahnama #firdausi
@ummamuseum #shahnameh
