Bandits attack the caravan of Aynie and Ria
Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) by Jami


A larger image of 'Bandits attack the caravan of Aynie and Ria' Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) by Jami

Persian miniature from the Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) by Jami (d.1492).
Commissioned by Ibrahim Mirza and made in Mashad, Iran
Calligrapher: Malik al-Daylami
Iran
Date: 1557 (964 A.H.)
Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper
H x W: 34.2 x 23.2 cm (13 7/16 x 9 1/8 in)
Freer Gallery of Art. F1946.12.64

Description
    Folio from the Silsilat al-dhahab (Chain of gold) second daftar from the Haft awrang (Seven thrones) by Jami; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; recto: text, illuminated headings in black, red and blue, gold column dividers, square panels with diagonal hemistichs and triangular verse illuminations, four columns, eleven lines of text; verso: Bandits attack the caravan of Aynie and Ria; one of a group of 304 folios.
    Border: The recto is set in multicolored rulings on a paper with birds, flowers and leaves stenciled in pink, outlined in gold; the verso is set in multicolored rulings on cream-colored paper with gold floral motifs.

From the poem: Chain of Gold
Bandits attack the caravan of Aynie and Ria.
While on their way to Medina, one of the holy cities in the Arabian peninsula, the star-crossed lovers, Aynie and Ria are attacked by bandits. Although Aynie fights bravely, he is fatally wounded by one of the attackers. At the sight of her dead husband, Ria is overcome by grief and dies next to her husband.