Unknown
Fire Ordeal of Siyavush, Folio from a Shahnama (Book of Kings)circa 1475-1500

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Illustrated Persian manuscript page with central painted scene of riders on black horses engulfed in swirling gold and orange flames, surrounded by columns of nastaliq script

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Fire Ordeal of Siyavush, Folio from a Shahnama (Book of Kings)
Place Made: Northern India (?)
Date Made: circa 1475-1500
Medium: Opaque watercolor, gold, and black and red ink on paper
Dimensions: Image: 5 9/16 x 4 13/16 in. (14.13 x 12.22 cm); Sheet: 12 x 9 1/4 in. (30.48 x 23.5 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Major and Mrs. C. C. Moseley
Accession Number: 57.17.7
Classification: Drawings
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: The Shahnama (Book of Kings), the Iranian national epic, was composed by Firdawsi and completed around 1010. It chronicles in verse the legendary and historical kings and heroes of the Persian Empire up to the Arab Muslim conquest in the seventh century. Celebrated for its literary prestige and depiction of sovereign ideals, it was widely circulated and admired in the Persian-literate world, including the Muslim courts of South Asia. Indian copies first appeared in the fourteenth century, with production expanding in the fifteenth century. Shiraz, in southern Iran, played a key role in exporting artists and manuscripts to South Asia, driven by its commercial manuscript tradition and the search for new patronage after the dissolution of its own royal atelier in 1435.

This folio illustrates one of the Shahnama’s most dramatic episodes: Siyavush’s fire ordeal. Falsely accused by his stepmother Sudabeh, Siyavush was ordered by his father, King Kay Kaus, to prove his innocence by riding through fire. The painting captures the tense moment as Siyavush enters the flames and emerges unscathed—a divine testament to his purity. A hallmark of Shiraz manuscripts, the stepped text layout in this folio creates an engaging composition by enhancing the interplay between word and image, guiding the reader through the unfolding drama. Though linked to the Shiraz style of painting with its high horizon and scalloped cloud band, the clustering of the courtiers and the bright orange pigment suggest an Indian provenance. This folio is one of four from the same dispersed Shahnama manuscript (see also 57.17.3, .4, 10).

2025
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Painting, vol.1. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1993.

Unknown
Fire Ordeal of Siyavush, Folio from a Shahnama (Book of Kings)circa 1475-1500

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Fire Ordeal of Siyavush, Folio from a Shahnama (Book of Kings)
Place Made: Northern India (?)
Date Made: circa 1475-1500
Medium: Opaque watercolor, gold, and black and red ink on paper
Dimensions: Image: 5 9/16 x 4 13/16 in. (14.13 x 12.22 cm); Sheet: 12 x 9 1/4 in. (30.48 x 23.5 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Major and Mrs. C. C. Moseley
Accession Number: 57.17.7
Classification: Drawings
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: The Shahnama (Book of Kings), the Iranian national epic, was composed by Firdawsi and completed around 1010. It chronicles in verse the legendary and historical kings and heroes of the Persian Empire up to the Arab Muslim conquest in the seventh century. Celebrated for its literary prestige and depiction of sovereign ideals, it was widely circulated and admired in the Persian-literate world, including the Muslim courts of South Asia. Indian copies first appeared in the fourteenth century, with production expanding in the fifteenth century. Shiraz, in southern Iran, played a key role in exporting artists and manuscripts to South Asia, driven by its commercial manuscript tradition and the search for new patronage after the dissolution of its own royal atelier in 1435.

This folio illustrates one of the Shahnama’s most dramatic episodes: Siyavush’s fire ordeal. Falsely accused by his stepmother Sudabeh, Siyavush was ordered by his father, King Kay Kaus, to prove his innocence by riding through fire. The painting captures the tense moment as Siyavush enters the flames and emerges unscathed—a divine testament to his purity. A hallmark of Shiraz manuscripts, the stepped text layout in this folio creates an engaging composition by enhancing the interplay between word and image, guiding the reader through the unfolding drama. Though linked to the Shiraz style of painting with its high horizon and scalloped cloud band, the clustering of the courtiers and the bright orange pigment suggest an Indian provenance. This folio is one of four from the same dispersed Shahnama manuscript (see also 57.17.3, .4, 10).

2025
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Painting, vol.1. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1993.