"Rustam Captures the Shah of Sham and the Shah of Berber", Folio from a Shahnama (Book of Kings)

Rustam, heading the Persian forces, was called upon to defeat the combined armies of the shah of Hamavaran - who through treachery had captured the Persian shah, Kai Kavus - and his allies, the shahs of Sham and Berber. After fierce fighting, Rustam captured the allied kings and the shah of Hamavaran asked for peace. In this battle scene, depicted with liveliness and verve, Rustam, identifiable by his tiger-skin cuirass (right foreground) appears to be lassoing the shah of Sham though the lasso is missing. The shah of Sham (left) is bending forward on his horse as though pulled by the lasso.

Author: Abu'l Qasim Firdausi (Iranian, Paj ca. 940/41–1020 Tus)
Date: ca. 1330–40
Geography: Attributed to Iran, probably Isfahan
Medium: Ink, opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper
Dimensions: Page: 20.5 x 13.3 cm, Painting: 4.7 x 10.8 cm
Classification: Codices
Credit Line: Bequest of Monroe C. Gutman, 1974
Accession Number: 1974.290.8
Provenance: Ph. Walter Schulz, Leipzig, Germany (by 1914); Professor O. Moll, Düsseldorf, Germany ; Monroe C. Gutman, New York (by 1929–d. 1974; bequeathed to MMA)
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

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Referenced as figure 125 in: M. GORELIK, "Oriental Armour of the Near and Middle East from the Eighth to the Fifteenth Centuries as Shown in Works of Art", in: Islamic Arms and Armour, ed. ROBERT ELGOOD, London 1979
125. Shāh-Nāmeh by Ferdawsī, Shiraz or Tabriz, c.1320. (Formerly W. Schulz Collection)