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Illustrations from the Shahnama showing Timurid soldiers
Rustam slaying his son Suhrab, 1435-1440
The figures wear contemporary dress or dress of no latter than the date of the illustration.
Object type: painting, manuscript
Description: Rustam slaying his son Suhrab; painting, detached page from a manuscript of Firdawsi's Shahnama. Rustam raises his knife above his son Suhrab while two horses stand on either side of the fight. Single tree in background. Four columns of text at bottom of sheet, one column in the top left corner, with a caption at top centre. Ink, opaque watercolour and gold on paper.
School/style: Persian School/Style
Culture/period: Timurid dynasty
Production Date: 1435-1440
Production place: Made in: Shiraz (South Iran, Fars province)
Materials: paper
Technique: painted
Dimensions:
Height: 21.20 centimetres (image)
Height: 29.30 centimetres (sheet)
Width: 14.20 centimetres (image)
Width: 21.90 centimetres (sheet)
Curator's comments
This scene is one of the most poignant moments in the national epic of Iran, the Shahnama ('Book of kings'). As a result of a series of misunderstandings and youthful taunts, Rustam slew the person he would later learn was his own son, Suhrab. Here Rustam delivers the fatal blow with a dagger that has a slightly curved blade, typical of the 15th century. The dagger has a gold quillon, which prevents the hand from slipping down the blade.
In the early 15th century, two grandsons of Timur (Tamerlane), founder of the Timurid dynasty, served as governor of Fars province from its capital, Shiraz. Paintings produced for Iskandar Sultan between 1410 and 1414 mark a stylistic departure from Shiraz work of the late 14th century. Under the patronage of his successor, Ibrahim Sultan (died 1435), traits associated with the 15th-century School of Shiraz emerged. These include a high horizon, horses with extremely arched necks, and simple clumps of vegetation, all of which appear in this illustration.
Source: British Museum 1948,1009,0.51