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Collections

The Army of Shah Ramin Attacking the Iron Fortress, Page from a Manuscript of Tuhfat al-Lata'if (The Best of Subtleties)1593-1594/1002 A.H.

Not on view
Illuminated manuscript painting with Arabic script borders, depicting mounted warriors descending a hillside toward a densely packed army, with a walled city at the left
Manuscript opening with two text columns of Arabic-script calligraphy in black ink on cream paper, with several words in red ink at the top of the right column, ruled borders in gold and black framing each page.
Title
The Army of Shah Ramin Attacking the Iron Fortress, Page from a Manuscript of Tuhfat al-Lata'if (The Best of Subtleties)
Place Made
Turkey
Date Made
1593-1594/1002 A.H.
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions
12 5/8 × 14 11/16 in. (32.07 × 37.31 cm) Frame: 23 × 19 × 1 1/2 in. (58.42 × 48.26 × 3.81 cm)
Credit Line
The Edwin Binney, 3rd, Collection of Turkish Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Accession Number
M.85.237.41
Classification
Manuscripts
Collecting Area
Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes

While sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Ottoman court artists were principally engaged in creating documentary-style illustrations for dynastic histories and chronicles of recent battles (see M.85.237.42), they were occasionally commissioned to produce paintings for works of literature. This illustration comes from one such manuscript made for the Ottoman Sultan Murad III (r. 1574–95); the focal point of the text is the romance between Shah Ramin, son of the King of Ghazni, and Mah-Parvin, the daughter of the king’s evil vizier, Shahruz. The double-page composition, depicting Shah Ramin’s army pursuing Shahruz, draws on the illustrative tradition of Ottoman chronicles, complete with detailed portrayals of the soldiers, their weapons, and the architecture of the cityscape.

Selected Bibliography
  • Binney, Edwin, 3rd. "Turkish Arts of the Book in the Binney Collection." Arts of Asia 17, no.6 (Nov/Dec 1987): 97-104.