Safavid Manuscript of the Koran, 1537

"Houghton" Shahnama 1525-1535
        Gift from Shah Isma'il to his son Shah Tahmasp
        Ship of Shi'ism
        *Court of Gayumars
        Rustam Defeating the Khakan of Cin Safavid
        Rustam Cleaves a Witch
        Khosrow Parviz Stabbed
        Nightmare of Zahhak
        Feast of Sadeh
        Firdawsi Encounters the Three Poets of Ghazna
        Ardashir and the Slave Girl Gulnar
Compare images from the Great Mongol Shah-Nameh and a Timurid Shah-Nameh

Diwan (Anthology) of Hafiz , c. 1525
Made for Prince Sam Mirza, brother of Shah Tahmasp
Illustrations by Sultan Muhammad and Shaykh Zadeh
        Lovers Picnicking
        Scandal in a Mosque
        Feast of 'Id Begins
        Allegory of Drunkenness

Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami, 1539-43 (British Museum Or. 2265)
Made for Shah Tahmasp. All major Safavid artists participated:  Sultan -Muhammad, Aqa Mirak, Mir Sayyid 'Ali, Mirza 'Ali, and Muzaffar 'Ali.
        Nushirvan Listening to the Owls on the Ruined Palace
        Physicians' Duel
        Nushaba Recognizing Iskandar from His Portrait
        Shirin Bathing
        Barbad Playing Music to Khusraw
        Majnun in Chains Brought by a Beggar Woman to Layla's Tent
        Majnun in the Desert
        Khusraw and Shirin Listening to Night Singing
        Ascent of the Prophet to Heaven

Life in the City and in Camp by Mir Sayyid 'Ali, c. 1540

Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) of Jami, 1556-1565 (Freer Museum)
Made for Sultan Ibrahim Mirza, Nephew of Shah Tahmasp, many artists participated
        Donkey for Sale
        Father's Discourse on Love
        "Why Is That Sufi in the Hamam?"
        Yusuf's Escape from the Well
        Yusuf Entertained at Court
        A City Dweller Desecrates a Garden
        Salaman and Absal on the Heavenly Isle
        *Maynun Before Layla's Tent
        Lamentation on the Death of Alexander

Drawings by Riza i Abbasi
        Young Man in a Blue Cloak, 1587
        *Nashmi the Archer, 1622

Miscellaneous Drawings and Paintings of the 16th and 17th century
 
 

Urbanism of Isfahan, The Maidan (Market) 1598-1617,  Allahverdi Khan Bridge, 1601
 
 

*Mosque of the Shah, 1611-38
*Palace of 'Ali Qapu, 1597-1660 by Shah 'Abbas
Chihil Sutun, begun 1647

*Ardabil Carpet, 1540
Garden Carpet
Hunting Carpet
Other Persian Carpets

Textiles

Study Questions:   Compare an illustration from the Houghton Shah Nameh to the Great Mongol Shah Nameh.

Analyze a miniature from the Haft Awrang made for Sultan Ibrahim Mirza.
Consult S. Simpson, Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's Haft Awrang.

    Revisit the Isfahan Web Site and look at the monuments of Shah 'Abbas.

http://isfahan.anglia.ac.uk/